


Get Real Gone

by keysmash



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Community: j2_everafter, Drugged Sex, Drugs, M/M, Movie Adaptation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-20
Updated: 2010-06-20
Packaged: 2017-10-10 05:17:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/95992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysmash/pseuds/keysmash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After ten years on <i>Days of Our Lives</i>, Jensen Ackles has finally landed his big break: a role in <i>Lightning</i>, this summer's NASCAR bromance. When he's waylaid from the promo tour and meets small-town Jared, though, Jensen has to take a new look at his priorities if he wants to make it back to LA in time for the premiere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get Real Gone

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on [Cars](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317219/) for [j2_everafter](http://community.livejournal.com/j2_everafter/). Thanks to [boom_queen](http://boom-queen.livejournal.com/) for the great beta, and to [sundancekid](http://sundancekid.livejournal.com/) for answering random Dr Pepper questions. 26,500 words. AU. Title from Sheryl Crow. A few lines of dialogue are from the movie. Originally posted April 13, 2009.

Jensen woke from his doze with a start as the tour bus turned. It jostled him towards the wall instead of out of his bunk and into the hall — they were going left. Jensen resettled himself and tried to make out what was going on based entirely on the motion of the bus underneath him. The vibrations slowed as the bus did, and Jensen slid around as they turned a few more times. He gritted his teeth and held on to the side of the bunk with one hand.

Jensen's head buzzed fuzzily in the darkness. Light crept in around the edges of his curtain. With his earbuds in place, his iPhone resting on his chest, and one hand tucked just into the waistband of his jeans, Jensen let his eyes fall most of the way closed. He focused on his breathing — slow in, slow out — and on the steady movement of the bus, rocking him. His bunk was quiet, dim, safe, and not at all confining, suffocating, isolated, coffin-like —

Jensen yanked his curtain open and breathed the fresher air in deep. Light from the living area shone down the hallway. Jensen unfocused his eyes and tried not to think about anything. Danneel usually had quality stuff, but Jensen was freaking out well and good tonight, and none of his usual tricks helped to calm him down. He rolled onto his back again and changed his playlist, switching from music to scroll through the video clips of other actors he kept as inspiration. He looked through the Ms for a while, passing Malkovich, John; McLeod, Catherine; Morgan, Jeffrey Dean; and Muhney, Michael before giving it up. The turning bus just made him feel nauseated, and he went back to his music.

"Fucking hate getting off the interstate," he muttered, and craned his neck to see if anyone was coming down the aisle.

Jensen snagged Chris's wrist when he passed and pulled him back. Chris rocked from side to side, and Aldis, coming along behind him, shook his head. Chris moved his mouth but no sound came out, and Jensen frowned.

"What?"

Chris pulled out Jensen's earbuds. "Gas station," he said, then turned away and kept walking.

"You know where we are?" Jensen asked Aldis.

"No clue."

Jensen groaned and rubbed his face. "Man, this is my last gimmick like this. I thought ten years of soaps conventions were bad, but this? Next time a studio says we're fucking driving cross-country for the press tour, doing racetracks and car factories and shit? I'm out."

"Yeah, because you're that big a diva?" Aldis asked. "None of us can make demands like that yet."

"Yet," Jensen repeated. "Yet. After this movie blows us all outta the water, you just wait. We will be. This is our break, right here."

"Hope you're right, man." Aldis clapped him on the shoulder, grinned, and continued on.

Jensen rearranged himself on the bunk and listened to the crew rattle up and down the hallway. After a few more turns, the tour bus creaked to a stop. The driver, Ted, yelled back that they were leaving again in fifteen minutes, and the other passengers burst into life around him. Jensen turned up his music and watched people file by, twisting and dancing around each other in the narrow passage.

"Ackles!" Danneel appeared at Jensen's shoulder. He turned his head to fully look her in the face and paused his playlist. She wore white Jackie-O sunglasses and a bright paisley scarf tied loosely over all her hair.

"Very classic Hollywood. I like." Jensen waved a hand toward her face. "And the –" he gestured at her low-cut tank, "is even better. I _like_. Classic Hollywood wouldn't have gone outta style if they'd done it like that."

Danneel shook her head and smiled. "You need anything? Hot dogs, three for two bucks inside – there's a sign. Jessica and I are getting so many, you don't even know."

"Munchies," Jensen taunted.

"And?" She adjusted her scarf. "You in or not?"

"Not. Definitely not."

"Suit yourself." Danneel patted his cheek twice -- Jensen missed her hand entirely when he tried to push her away – and then walked to the door.

"Oh, hey!" Jensen yelled belatedly. "If y'all want a hot dog, I've got one right here!"

"In your dreams!" Danneel called back.

"I can arrange that!"

Danneel didn't answer again, and Jensen sniggered to himself. She only put up with his bad jokes because he'd made it clear there was no intent behind any of it.

He felt better now that the bus was still, but the thought of heat-lamp hot-dogs, soaked in their own grease and covered in pungent mustard and onions, only turned his stomach. He curled on his side, but going fetal didn't help. His bunk suddenly seemed tiny, the air in the bus smelled stale and artificial, and his mouth flooded with that pre-puking surge of saliva.

Jensen untangled himself from his phone and tossed it toward his pillow, then swung carefully into the hall. He kept one hand on each side of the wall as he hurried toward the door. Someone yelled his name as he passed through the main area and he raised a hand without looking back at them.

The summer night felt cool and fresh on his skin, after the stifled bunk. Jensen leaned back to crack his spine and found the sky dotted with stars. Jensen stared for a few moments, reminded of stretching his legs on night road trips with his family, and then headed inside. He realized, just as the automatic doors whooshed open, that he'd left his sunglasses on the bus. Jensen paused, letting tinny muzac and the smell of prepackaged food wash over him, then shrugged. Sunglasses at night were always memorable, he rationalized.

One of the promo posters was pasted in a window by the door, above a sign reminding people that the gas station would card them, and next to an ad for Doritos. Jensen took a moment to study the familiar artwork: he and Aldis stood back to back in those ridiculous racing uniforms with their arms crossed, staring at the camera. _LIGHTNING_, screamed the poster, cutting the two of them off at the knees. Underneath, Danneel, Jessica, and Chris stood in front of a racecar. As always, Jensen snorted at the way their hair all blew back from their faces as they eyefucked the camera, then he shook his head and continued on.

He recognized a couple of guys from media relations in the men's room and plastered himself to the furthest available urinal, in the corner. Jensen leaned his left forearm against the wall after unzipping and rested his forehead on his wrist while he pissed. He stayed there for a few minutes after he shook off and rezipped: his forehead slipped to the cool tiles of the wall and he listened to the men around him enter and leave the room until the floor steadied itself under his spread feet.

Jensen splashed water on his face after he washed his hands, and scooped handfuls over his upper arms. The air felt cool on his damp skin, and Jensen ran his hands through his hair. His eyes were wide and bloodshot in the mirror.

Jensen squared his shoulders, double-checked that he hadn't dribbled down his jeans, and left. He kept his head down as he walked through the store. The food turning under the heat-lamps looked as bad as he feared, but the fresh fruit in the next display gleamed appealingly. Jensen decided to find an apple or something once he got back on the bus –

The fucking bus had moved since he was inside, of fucking _course_. Jensen turned in slow circles between the pumps. He could hear the engine rumbling, low and constant, but couldn't find it. He circled three times before he saw the bus, idling on the edge of the lot beyond the reach of the lamps. Jensen walked unsteadily over. The other bus in their caravan must have already pulled off, because Jensen's waited by itself. A woman passed him, hurrying. Jensen tried to place her as he followed but gave it up. Maybe she was one of the new assistants; he had no idea.

He climbed the stairs carefully, holding on to the handrails. Someone'd turned off the lights while Jensen was inside, and he fell into the first seating he found instead of continuing to his bunk.

"This everyone?" Ted called from behind the wheel. His voice sounded deeper than normal, but Jensen figured he had a frog in his throat or something. He joined the general murmur of assent and closed his eyes. The bus pulled out. Everyone was much quieter than usual, speaking in hushed voices instead of screaming over the music.

The music was gone, too, Jensen realized. He smiled at how considerate everyone was being, and let the road noise lull him back to sleep.

.

Jensen woke with an unpleasant crick in his next the next time the bus stopped. He peered out the window and found the sky dark, then realized there shouldn't be a window here. The kitchenette was smushed behind the driver, and Jensen should be staring down the maple veneer cabinets, held closed with strong magnets. He frowned down at his lap and realized he shouldn't be sitting here, either. The tour bus didn't _have_ a seat here.

He turned sideways and saw two middle-aged women staring at him from across the aisle. He swallowed hard and glanced behind him: instead of finding his own bus, full of people sleeping in awkward places, taking drugs, and having poorly-muffled sex in the cramped bathroom, Jensen saw row upon row of soccer moms. Some of them slept, with their heads pillowed upon windows or their neighbor's shoulder, but those awake stared at Jensen, wide eyes under frosted hair.

"Uh," he said, and tried to stand. It didn't work out so hot, and he sat back down heavily. "I think there's been some –"

"All right, ladies," someone behind Jensen interrupted. "We're here for --" The driver stopped when Jensen turned around and stared up. Standing, the guy seemed to stretch all the way to the ceiling. From Jensen's slouch, he could just barely make out the nametag: Andrew.

"You're not Ted," Jensen said.

"And you're sure as hell not supposed to be here." Andrew grabbed the neck of Jensen's shirt, and Jensen scrambled to his feet when Andrew yanked.

"Hey, I just got on my bus –" Jensen tried to protest, but Andrew hustled him the few feet to the front of the bus, pulled a lever, and hurried Jensen down the stairs.

Jensen stumbled between the last step and the curb and took a few steps on the sidewalk before steadying himself. The door closed smoothly behind him. Jensen turned and banged on the window, but Andrew was back in his seat. He studiously ignored Jensen as he put the bus into gear and pulled away. About every other woman watched Jensen through the windows, and then the bus was gone, leaving behind a few puffs of exhaust. Its taillights glowed red for a while, shrinking until the road turned and they abruptly disappeared to the right.

Jensen glanced up and down the road. It was lined with shops on both sides, but aside from a few streetlights, spread too far apart to truly light up the street, everything seemed dark.

Jensen licked his dry lips – he wished he had a bottle of water right about now – and took a few steps in the same direction the bus had gone. Andrew stopped his passengers here for some reason, and Jensen didn't go far before he saw a diner, set back from the road. The sidewalk sloped away into a parking lot with a few covered gas pumps set to one side. The diner itself -- _Meg's Cooking_, glared the neon over the windows – was the only bright thing Jensen had seen since he awoke. Light poured from windows covering the storefront and reflected off the pair of cars in the parking lot. Inside, a waitress with a bright green vest over jeans and a tank top refilled a cup of coffee.

He patted down his jeans and came up completely empty – his phone was in his bunk, his wallet in his suitcase, and he'd stopped carrying cash once he got used to the PAs meeting all his needs. Jensen backtracked a few feet and checked his reflection in a store window with a deep crack running down the center. His hair had dried into spikes after he wet it down at the truck strop. He couldn't tell if his eyes were red, in the unlit stretch of street, but at least they weren't completely hooded. Jensen held a hand in front of his mouth, exhaled, and winced. He still reeked of pot, but maybe he'd get by if he didn't breathe in anyone's face.

The real test would be in seeing if Jensen even knew anyone's number anymore. His own phone was set to vibrate, so he could call it all night without annoying anyone on tour into picking up. The studio's public number would be listed if the diner had an extensive phone book, but he wouldn't be able to get in touch with anyone useful just calling without some way to prove who he was. He could call his parents, but he didn't want to wake up his mom in the middle of the night to tell her he was drugged and lost, and more than a little responsible for the situation. He was pretty much useless without his saved contacts.

Jensen swiped his thumbs under his eyes and then scrubbed one forefinger over his teeth. He couldn't do anything about his ratty jeans, or the wrinkled button-down over his t-shirt at this point, so he set off.

He only took a few steps to the side, toward the glow of the diner, before one foot caught on something on the sidewalk. Jensen glanced down and saw himself tangled in a coiled rope, stacked next to scaffolding, some tarps, and a few cans of paint. He frowned and tried to pull free, but one loop of rope tightened around his ankle even as the others fell away. Jensen tugged, trying to yank himself out, and almost lost his balance. He hopped around until he got both feet under himself again, but realized his other foot was tangled in the rope as well. The rope wound around each ankle, and as he tried to step out of the loops, he wound up wrapping both legs together.

Jensen scowled, then hopped to the paint cans and sat down. He worked one ankle free and leaned gratefully against the scaffolding.

"The hell is scaffolding doing in the middle of the sidewalk, anyway?" he muttered, and tilted his head back just in time to see an open blue tarp flutter down on top of him.

Jensen sprang up and tried to bat his way free, but he tripped over the rope again. Both legs were wrapped together again. Jensen flapped his arms and tried to push out from under the tarp, but it was unwieldy and surprisingly heavy. He took a few hops blindly, arms as outstretched as he could manage, then landed unevenly on the side of his foot.

He fell sideways and his shoulder smashed into something. Jensen heard glass break and then he kept falling. His hip caught on something solid and he flipped over it, now falling down instead of to the side. Glass crunched under him when he hit the floor, but at least nothing cut through the tarp.

Jensen flapped around a little longer, trying to get free, but couldn't seem to do anything other than tighten the rope on his legs. He punched up at the tarp over his face until he felt fresh air on his face, then gave in to the drugs and his barely contained panic, and closed his eyes.

.

Jensen came to curled on one side, cramped onto a short couch. His head was pressed against one arm, and his stocking feet tucked up onto the other. His neck and shoulders ached, but he stretched a little and enjoyed finally waking up somewhere that wasn't moving.

He had about five seconds of appreciation before he remembered exactly _why_ he hadn't slept on the bus.

Jensen cracked his eyes and found them just as dry and contact-crusty as he always did, when he didn't take his time getting ready for bed. He tried to rub them and found his wrists were tied together. Jensen's breath started coming faster as he struggled to sit up. He blinked rapidly until his eyes were more willing to focus, then saw he was cuffed with two over-locking plastic zip ties, joined in the center with one around each hand.

Glancing around, he found his couch along one wall of a small room. Dark curtains covered a window on an opposite wall, a card table and several folding chairs took up most of the center of the room, and a large whiteboard calendar, filled with multicolored scribbling in different handwritings, hung on another wall. When Jensen looked the other way, he noticed the door in the corner of the room, and the enormous motherfucker in a pink floral shirt leaning in the doorframe, watching Jensen with his arms crossed.

"Woah," Jensen said. He scooted a little to the side, away from the guy. "You scared me, dude."

He just kept watching. Jensen swallowed uncomfortably and tried again.

"Look, I know this is a dumb question –"

The guy raised his eyebrows and snorted a little.

"— but would you tell me what the hell is going on?"

He stayed silent for long enough that Jensen kept going.

"I'm sure you know who I am, okay, and where we are and all, so how about you level the field here."

"Why would I know who you are?" the guy asked. "You didn't have any ID. You could be anyone."

"You don't know who _I_ am?" Jensen asked. He raised his eyebrows but the guy just mirrored him. "I'm Jensen Ackles, alright? Actor? I'm in _Lightning_, comes out this week, has my face plastered all over the place? Ringing any bells?"

The guy shrugged again. "Can you prove any of that?"

Jensen held up his wrists. "How about you cut these off and we'll go Google me."

"Do you even know why you're here?"

"My bus – there was a misunderstanding," Jensen said slowly. "My friends and I got separated, and I wound up here."

The guy just stared some more, until Jensen went on.

"Look, you think I'm happy about this? I don't know where I am or how to get back."

The guy raised an eyebrow. "You seriously don't remember?"

Jensen shook his head. The guy watched him a little longer, then shrugged and pushed off the doorjamb. Jensen tensed as he approached the couch and didn't really relax when the guy sat next to him. His legs stretched far over the floor, and even slumped next to Jensen, their eyes were still level.

"Well, you're sorta screwed, is what it comes down to." His hair flopped into his eyes and he brushed it away absently, then extended his hand to Jensen. "I'm Jared, by the way."

"Jensen," he replied, and took Jared's hand between both of his. He felt a little cheesy, like some middle-aged businessman laying on the charm to close a deal, but supposed that situation paralleled his own pretty well. "But uh, I already said that."

"Yeah," Jared said. He pulled his hand free and leaned back. Jensen forced himself to relax as well, but took care not to let his body brush Jared's. Smoking hot or no, Jensen didn't want any gay panic when he was handcuffed and the guy built like a brick shithouse wasn't.

Speaking of: "You think we can do something about these now?" Jensen waved his hands around. "I don't have my shoes or any money, s'not like I'm gonna run."

Jared shook his head. "Sorry, dude. Told Doc I'd wait til he got here."

Jensen considered this. "Where are my shoes, anyway?"

Jared laughed. "You'll get'em back," he said.

"That's not helpful." Jensen fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Seriously, tell me where I am, at least."

"Radiator Springs," Jared said. When Jensen spread his fingers and raised his eyebrows – the hell? – Jared laughed and went on. "On Route 66. In California."

Jensen tried to remember where the tour was stopping today – somewhere in Arizona or Colorado, he though. "At least I'm in the right state," he muttered.

"Hmm?"

Jensen shook his head. "Nothing." He leaned forward to try and look past Jared and out the door, but just saw a hallway. "How are you even holding me here – no way is this legal. Tell me what's going on, all right? I've got places to be."

Jared checked the time on his phone, shrugged, and showed it to Jensen: 7:56 am. "Guess I may as well show you," he said, then put his phone away and stood.

Jensen leaned forward and carefully rose. Jared steadied Jensen with a hand to the elbow when he stood and Jensen felt the touch throughout his entire body. He flicked his gaze to Jared's face, but as soon as their eyes met, Jared looked away. He dropped his hand and stepped out of arm's reach.

"That way." Jared nodded to the door and waited for Jensen to go ahead.

Their room was at the end of a hallway. An older man with a beard and some sort of law enforcement uniform sat in a chair at the end of the hallway, reading a magazine. He lowered it when Jensen came out, so his _Sheriff Beaver_ nametag was clearly visible. He sneered a little at Jensen and nodded to the other end of the hall.

"Well, get on," he said, and went back to his issue of _People_. "You're in a heap of trouble."

Jensen glanced behind him, met Jared's unreadable stare, and continued down the hall. They passed a door labeled _Employees Only_ and two bathrooms, then turned a corner into a room full of shelves and products. Glancing around quickly, Jensen saw shampoo, toothbrushes, pregnancy tests, bottles of vitamins, and a counter under a _Pharmacist_ sign.

"Drugstore?" he asked. Jared nodded and tipped his head toward the front of the store, where sunlight poured through wide windows. Jensen kept going, walking down an aisle of baby products, and stopped short when he noticed broken glass glinting on the floor. He didn't come any closer barefoot, but stood on his toes and saw glass spread across the entire entryway. A blue tarp and a few sections of rope lay in the center of the floor, and in the sunlight streaming through the glass door, Jensen could read the printed sign posted on the door. The words looked backwards, through the paper: _Pardon our mess! We'll reopen ASAP. Thanks, Morgan's Drugstore._

Jensen turned, wide-eyed and guilty, to meet Jared's gaze. Tiny fragments glinted on the lower shelves. Jared crossed his arms and met Jensen's eyes easily, but Jensen flushed and looked down.

"This was a complete accident," he said. "I barely even remember it, but I tripped, and –"

"We know what happened," someone said from outside. Jensen turned and saw a dark-haired guy with salt and pepper stubble and intense eyes unlocking the door. "I've already checked the security tapes," he continued, through the broken window."

"Oh," Jensen said, and watched him come in. The man looked familiar somehow, though Jensen couldn't place him immediately. Thick motorcycle boots crunched through the glass shards as the guy crossed the entry. He ignored Jensen and continued on to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jared and survey the damage.

"Looks worse in the morning, Doc," Jared said.

The older guy – Doc, apparently – frowned and nodded. "Just what I was thinking."

"You've got the tapes, though. The insurance'll have to cover everything."

"Yeah, but I don't know that they'll pay for what I'll lose while I'm closed –"

"You're closing?" Jared asked.

"For a few days. There's broken glass all over the place." Doc leveled a stare at Jared. "I'd make it work without a window, but the last thing I need is someone hurt here."

"And time closed isn't covered?"

"It's covered," Doc said, "but it'll be hard to get out of them. Physical damage's easy to pay for, but profit's a bitch to agree on."

Jensen cleared his throat. Jared glanced over but Doc kept ignoring him, so Jensen interrupted their conversation. "Look," he said, and rolled his eyes when Doc kept staring at Jared for a few moments longer before finally turning to face Jensen.

"I feel awful about this," Jensen continued – and he did, too. Honestly. This was the sort of stuff that led to a series of anti-drug PSAs featuring his very solemn face, shot in black and white, and _that_ was the sort of stuff that could derail a career.

"Awful, really," he repeated, "and the last thing I'd want is for you to be out of money because of my mistake." He widened his eyes just a little and took a single step forward, with his hands spread as far apart as he could manage. Jared's stance started to soften, his shoulders lowering and his face relaxing, but Doc didn't budge.

"If you can let me use a phone or the Internet or something, I can get with my people and take care of this for you."

Jared glanced at Doc, who clenched his jaw before relaxing it to speak. "Your people," he repeated.

"Yeah, once I get in touch with my agent, or the production company – well, they'll tear me a new one," Jensen paused to force a self-deprecating laugh, "but they'll take care of _you_, don't worry."

"You're an actor," Doc said, almost incredulous. He looked Jensen up and down and scoffed. Jensen squared his shoulders and looked Doc straight on, trying to project dignity even when barefoot, handcuffed, and standing in front of his own mistake. Under Doc's unimpressed glare, he felt like a puppy about to have its nose rubbed in a puddle on a new carpet.

"And with the money comes a contract where I agree to keep quiet about the whole thing?" Doc rolled his eyes. "No thanks. I'll go through the insurance, and press charges separately."

"Woah, woah," Jensen said. His heart rate kicked up. He glanced at Jared for no reason he could put his finger on and found the guy staring past him, at the empty window. Jensen felt strangely disappointed and looked back to Doc instead. "This was a complete accident, okay? And it was my fault and I know I need to fix it, but we don't have to go to _court_, here. I'll pay for everything right now."

Doc shook his head. "You'll excuse me for not taking the word of the drunk who dove through my window in the middle of the night. Your money isn't enough: I want real punishment."

"I don't know how easily you'll get that in court," a woman said outside. Jensen turned and saw a petite brunette in jeans and a blazer standing just outside the window. "Mind if I come in?"

"You gonna keep standing there if I say no?" Doc asked.

She grinned widely, dimpling her cheeks. "Definitely."

"Suit yourself, then." Doc waved at the door. "It's unlocked. Watch your step."

Her towering heels clicked on the floor as she picked her way through the glass. She pivoted in a slow circle, took in the damage, then crossed to Jensen and held out her hand. "Sandra McCoy," she said, "attorney. I understand this is your responsibility."

Jensen gave her the same awkward handshake he'd used with Jared and nodded. "Jensen Ackles –" he was a little relieved at the double take she couldn't quite hide – "and yeah, this was me."

They dropped hands and Sandra joined Doc and Jared, leaning up to kiss them both on the cheek instead of shaking. The happy feeling in Jensen's gut faltered at that.

"Like I said before, though," Jensen repeated, "I want to take care of this for you."

"And you'll do that," Doc started, but Sandra shook her head and cut him off.

"Doc, your best bet here is to settle out of court," she said.

He frowned down at her, but she just shrugged and went on, ticking things off on her fingers.

"No court fees, not nearly as much spent on lawyers, you're likely to get a bigger settlement, no bad press –"

"Sandy, I'm not the one who has to worry about bad press here," Doc protested.

"But is it going to do you good, to be known as the pharmacist with a grudge?" Sandra raised an eyebrow. "How are the customers going to like that?"

"Where else are they gonna go?"

"True, but you don't want to build up bad blood if you can avoid it." She sighed and touched his arm lightly, once. "As your counsel, I'm advising you to deal with him."

Doc laughed. "Did I hire you and forget it? Since when are you my counsel?"

She raised both eyebrows. "Where else were you gonna go?" she repeated.

He glared at Jensen a little longer, then nodded to Sandra. "Fine, but he's –"

"Let's do this in my office," she said. "And let's get Mr. Ackles some shoes, first."

.

They'd only uncuffed Jensen on the condition that the Sheriff accompany him to Sandra's office, but he had his shoes back, at least.

Sandra led the way down the sidewalk, followed by Jensen, on the side nearest the buildings, and Jared between him and the street, then Doc and the Sheriff behind them all. Jensen tried, without much luck, to stop stressing: the sun was gaining elevation in the sky now, and while it made him wish for his sunglasses, it also meant some people on the tour would be getting up soon. Even if it was just someone on support staff who'd notice him missing, this was on its way to being fixed.

He purposefully didn't think about Doc's wish to press charges.

The diner he'd noticed last night was full of customers this morning, but it seemed to be the only busy store. They passed an empty tattoo shop with a _For Sale_ sign in one window, a salon with a bald man spinning in a chair while a dark-haired guy swept, and an organic juice bar where a blond man peered at them from a plastic lawn chair on the sidewalk. Manners Surplus, with a black ribbon in the window, wasn't open yet, nor was the somewhat improbable gift and souvenir shack next door. Jensen looked around and couldn't see any reason why someone would want to remember this dump.

Between and behind the buildings, Jensen caught glimpses of the dry, rocky landscape surrounding them. Mountains and hills rose in the distance, but the town sat in the middle of a flat basin with little visible vegetation. Sun reflected off the dirt and stone, and everything looked bright and sterile.

Sandra's office seemed to mark the end of the business district and the beginning of the residential area. It took up the front rooms of an old house which, based on the signs out front, did double-duty as a bed and breakfast. Everything looked nice inside, though, if a little retro-fabulous: new hardwood floors, mid-century couch in the waiting room Sandra led them through, mirrored starburst clock taking up the entire wall behind her desk.

She motioned Jensen and Doc into two chairs facing the desk and sat down behind it. Jared and Beaver stayed in the room, hovering between them and the door, and Jensen fought not to roll his eyes when he guessed they were here as muscle.

"Mr. Ackles," Sandra began, "tell me what you had in mind here."

He shrugged. "Nothing specific yet. I'm willing to cover anything the insurance won't pick up, the lost income during repairs, and then…" Jensen trailed off when he noticed Sandra writing this all down as he went. "Uh, actually, I'm not comfortable discussing this without my own lawyer here."

Doc scoffed and crossed his arms, but Sandy just nodded. "Of course," she said. "How can I get in touch with them?"

_Go to my Favorite numbers and scroll down,_ Jensen thought unhappily. "I don't have my phone with me," he said, "so –"

"You can use this one." Sandra pushed the phone on her desk towards him.

"Uh." Jensen shifted. "I don't actually know her number," he said, and glanced down, then up. He ignored Doc's further grumbling. "She's in my contacts, but I don't know it off the top of my head…"

"Alright, is there someone else you can call?"

Jensen thought through the list of people he'd considered last night: the lawyers dedicated to the movie would be a good second choice, as would his agent, but he didn't know any of their numbers, either. He didn't know anyone's number these days, apart from his own –

"My assistant," he said. "She's on my plan, and we got the phones together, so her number's only one digit different from mine, and –" He cut himself off. "I can call her."

"Go ahead." Sandy nudged the phone closer and Jensen dialed.

The phone didn't even ring once before it was picked up. "Hello?"

"Uh, hey, Mack, it's –"

"_Jensen Ross_," Mackenzie snapped immediately, sounding disconcertingly like their mother, "where the fuck _are_ you?"

"I'm fine, I'm in –" He turned around and mouthed _Radiator Springs_ at Jared, making it a question by raising his eyebrows. At Jared's nod, Jensen grinned slightly and repeated it for Mack. "It's in California, I just got on the wrong bus at the truck stop and wound up here. Somehow."

"You got on – what had you taken? Do you know what I've gone through this morning? I am _quitting_. You can find yourself a real assistant – did you know I had to call Mom to see if she knew where you were? Do you even _know_ how hard that sucked?"

"Look, I'll make it up to you –" Mack and Doc snorted at the same time – "but for now – I don't have my phone –"

"I noticed."

"— so could you have Angie call me at this number?"

Mack stayed silent for a dangerously long time before asking, "Why do you need Angie?"

Jensen sighed. He was uncomfortably aware of the room full of people listening to his side of the conversation. "There's been – I maybe destroyed some property last night, and I don't want to handle it without her."

Mack sighed back, loud in his ear. "This is her week _off_, Jen. She's in fucking Tahiti, at one of those places where you turn in your cell when you check in and don't get it back until you leave."

"_This_ week?" Jensen boggled. "She took off the week before the premiere?"

"It's a time-share," Mack said, but then hummed thoughtfully. "I can get one of the production lawyers to you, though. Tell me again where you are."

Mack wrote down the details while everyone in the room watched Jensen.

"God, Mack, thank you," Jensen said when they finished. "Call Mom for me, would you? Tell her I'm sorry."

"Do your own dirty work," she said. "I've gotta go," and hung up on him.

Jensen frowned at the phone, and then hung it up. "Someone'll be calling soon."

"Great," said Sandra, and stood. "Anyone else need some water?"

.

Four hours later, after faxes, a near-constant conference call, and a reaming from James Cameron, Jensen walked out of Sandy's office. The insurance company was sending someone out that day to assess the damage, but just as Doc predicted, they balked at reimbursing him up-front for the lost days of operation. The lawyers agreed to half again the figure Doc named, but Doc agreed not to go to the press only on one condition: Jensen had to stay in town and help Doc with the repairs. Doc wouldn't budge on this point for any amount of money, and though he agreed not to take the details of their deal to the press, he seemed ready to call off the entire arrangement without his pound of flesh.

So when Jensen walked, blinking, back into the sunlight, he had a wire transfer waiting for him at the gas station, one dirty change of clothes, and a week to work with a man who seemed to hate him. Jensen's publicist would explain his absence from the rest of the press tour as food poisoning, but Jensen knew his career would be seriously threatened if he wasn't back in LA for the premiere.

"So," Jensen said, as Doc pushed past him down Sandy's porch steps, "not that I don't appreciate the company, but why exactly are you still hanging around?"

Next to him, Jared shrugged. His shoulders may or may not have rippled. Jensen couldn't say for certain. Without his sunglasses, Jensen couldn't exactly check people out on the sly.

"It's my day off."

"Your day off," Jensen repeated. Jared nodded. "And you don't have anything better to do?"

Jared looked pointedly up and down the street. "Let's get something to eat," he said, instead of answering Jensen's question.

"I've gotta stop by the gas station first," Jensen said.

"Diner and the gas station are the same thing," Jared said. "Perfect. Let's go." He started down the sidewalk without waiting to see if Jensen followed. Jensen watched his ass for a few steps, then caught up.

He studied Jared's profile for a while, the point of his nose and the curls around his ears. Jared flushed slightly but didn't glance toward Jensen.

"You're supposed to keep an eye on me, aren't you," Jensen said, not bothering to make it into a question.

Jared did turn then. He met Jensen's eyes for a moment before looking away again.

"Rather hang out in the jail?" he asked, but he colored further. "Cuz I can call Jim, if you want."

"Jim?"

"Beaver," Jared supplied. "The sheriff."

"I'll pass," Jensen said.

The diner held a few people, sitting at the counter when Jensen and Jared walked up, plus several vested waitresses hurrying around. The gas pumps didn't seem to have their own dedicated building. Instead, Jensen picked up his money at the diner's checkout from a tall woman with curly hair, while Jared stretched out in a booth.

"Friend of Jared's?" she asked. Jensen turned pulled his attention away from Jared's long legs and back to her. Her nametag read _Adrianne_.

"Sort of," Jensen said. "I'm just in town for a while, and he's…" Jensen trailed off and shrugged. He didn't actually know how to define Jared, who was pulling some strange balancing act between jailer and object of attraction.

"He's friendly, that's for sure," she said.

"Looks that way."

Adrianne nodded and gave him a slip of paper to sign. She frowned from his signature to his face and Jensen glanced down. Now that his identity was settled, and he wasn't sticking around town for flattering reasons, he didn't much want to play the celebrity recognition game.

"Ok, just need your ID and we're done here," she said.

Jensen took a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and showed it to Adrianne. Mack had faxed him color copies of the front and back of his California driver's license, as well as his old Texas ID, with one corner cut off to show it was expired.

Adrianne raised her eyebrows at him and Jensen hurried to explain.

"I left my wallet at home," he said. "So I don't have any ID or money or anything, but I've got this copy." He pushed the paper hopefully across the counter and then took his hands back. She picked the sheet up and frowned at it.

"I don't know," she said. "This is a lot of money to give out without an ID."

"Problem here?" Another woman came up. Her tag said _Megalyn_, and, in smaller letters underneath, _Owner_.

"Everything's fine," Adrianne said. "Except –" She glanced at the paperwork again. "Mr. Ackles here doesn't have any ID." She slid the copy back to Jensen, but Megalyn picked up the paper and studied it.

"I just signed a contract with that, with Sandra McCoy and, uh, Doc?" Jensen said quickly. "And _they_ took this as ID."

Megalyn frowned. "Doc and Sandy took this?"

Jensen nodded at her.

Megalyn gave Jensen a hard look, then set her jaw and nodded. "You cover the A section tables for me," she told Adrianne, who left while Megalyn counted his money onto the countertop. Jensen sagged with relief.

"Thank you for this," Jensen said. Megalyn glanced up at him and didn't otherwise respond. Jensen fell silent again and watched her hands deal the money.

"You look familiar," she said, when she stacked his cash into an envelope and handed it over. Jensen folded the envelope in half and slid it into his back pocket, then met her gaze again.

"I get that a lot," he said, hedging.

"Live in LA." She tapped his CA license and then let Jensen take and fold that paper away as well. "You're an actor?" she asked.

Jensen didn't confirm, but he didn't deny, either, and she took his silence for what it was.

"I thought so," she said, and grinned. "Are you someone I should know?"

Jensen hesitated, unsure of how to respond, then slid into the cocky, self-assured smile that shone out from all the _Lightning_ promos. "I will be," he said, and grinned wider before meeting Jared at the booth.

Once he looked through the menu, Jensen realized he hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours. Adrianne told Jensen the entire selection was served all day long, and he ordered pancakes with eggs and sausage, a cheeseburger with fries, a Caesar salad, and a Coke. Jared laughed at him but then ordered the same thing, with a Dr Pepper.

"Wait, you have Dr Pepper here?" Jensen asked.

"Right on the menu." She turned his menu over and pointed to the drink selection.

"_Oh_, I want a Dr Pepper," Jensen said. Jared laughed, and Jensen stared as Jared's face split into this impossible smile, all teeth and dimples and shining eyes. Adrianne laughed as well, and took their menus.

"I'll bring this in shifts," she said, "since it won't all fit on the table at once. You care what comes first?"

Jared looked at Jensen and shrugged.

"Breakfast first," Jensen said, "then the salads."

She made a note and turned in their orders. They sat silently in the booth for a while. Jensen watched the other customers eating for a while. The lull in conversation wasn't awkward, but Jensen wasn't truly comfortable with it, either.

"Dr Pepper?" he asked eventually, turning back to his table. "Where'd you pick that up?"

"Just did, growing up," Jared said, and shrugged.

Jensen frowned a little and cocked his head, but then their actual Dr Peppers came out.

Jensen had gotten used to touch-and-go Dr Pepper availability in California, but there, he at least knew places to go when he needed a fix. Since they'd been on the road, Dr Pepper had been truly unpredictable. Stops in the South had it, but it was more rare up north. He and Mack had taken to stocking up on cans and bottles at gas stations, but that wasn't as sweet as Dr Pepper from a fountain. Jensen sucked half his glass down at once and forgot the question as he drank.

.

Jared delivered him back to the pharmacy later, after Doc called. The sun was moving closer to the horizon and Jensen squinted a little as they walked.

Doc met them outside. The broken glass on the sidewalk had been swept away and the scaffolding from last night was gone, but the inside of the store was still a glittering mess. A tall black trashcan, and a mop and push broom, stood in the center of the entryway, and Doc waited with his arms crossed. He'd rolled up his sleeves during the day and Jensen noticed a cross tattooed on his left lower arm.

"Insurance guy's been here?" Jared asked. Jensen was happy to hang back and let Jared draw Doc's attention for a while.

"Come and gone," Doc said. He patted the breast pocket on his shirt. "Gonna go deposit the check here in a second."

"Have you found a contractor yet?" Jensen asked.

Doc raised an eyebrow.

"For the window," Jensen said.

Doc snorted. "That's you'n'me, bud."

"Me?" Jensen scoffed. "I have no idea how to install a window."

"That's why you're just labor, here. What did you think you were gonna be doing?" Doc crossed to the trashcan and picked up the broom, then tossed it to Jensen. "Get started on the shards. I want this all cleaned up by tonight."

"What?" Jensen asked. He clutched the broom handle and stared.

"It needs to be done by morning," Doc said. "All of it. Needs to be clean so we can work."

"Is there even going to be a window tomorrow?" Jensen asked.

"It was already ordered," Doc said. "Already cracked; that's how you broke it so easily. Only now, I've got someone paying me to replace it." He grinned unpleasantly and headed down the street.

Jensen kept staring even as Doc pulled open a door and disappeared into a storefront. Jensen glanced at the mess, at the trashcan, and then at Jared. Jared raised his eyebrows just slightly, and took a step backwards.

"I've gotta head out." Jared hooked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at something Jensen couldn't see.

"Hey," Jensen said.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Jared said, and kept walking backwards, watching Jensen as he went.

Jensen kept eye contact with Jared until Jared finally turned and started walking forwards down the sidewalk. Jensen sighed and stepped inside the store. The glass crunched underfoot and shone on seemingly every surface: countertops, merchandise, and the entire floor. Jensen groaned as he lined up the bristles with the doorstop and began to sweep.

.

Jensen woke for the second day in a row cramped on the couch in Doc's break room. Weak light dribbled through the pulled curtains and Jensen pushed himself upright slowly. His arms and shoulders ached from hours of repetitive sweeping and his back hurt from bending after stray shards. It turns out that broken industrial glazing makes a hell of a mess.

Jensen slid his shoes on and stretched, then fished his contacts out of the case he'd helped himself to the night before. When he walked to the front of the store, Doc was triple-bagging the clinking trash bags, which Jensen had already double-bagged. He barely glanced at Jensen.

"I'm gonna eat before we start," Jensen said after a moment.

"You need a shower," Doc said. "And a change of clothes. And a place to sleep – I'm not running a hotel here."

"Well, where do you want me to go?" Jensen snapped. "Should I sleep on a bench somewhere?"

"You'd've gotten a room when we were at Sandy's yesterday, if you had any sense." Doc dropped a bag heavily on the floor and reached for another. "Hardly my fault you didn't."

Jensen rolled his eyes and stomped out of the pharmacy. He tried to guess what time it was and couldn't tell without his phone. The shops around him were mostly empty, with only about one in three showing an employee moving around inside, but the diner held a crowd. Jensen sniffed himself, grimaced, and buttoned his shirt over his sweat-stained tee underneath, then walked inside.

Megalyn nodded at him from behind the cash register. Jensen smiled at her, hyper-aware of the outfit he'd worn yesterday, and took an empty stool at the counter.

Adrianne stopped by to fill him a cup of coffee and handed him a menu from a stack a few feet down the counter. "Take a look at that and I'll be right back with you."

Jensen scanned the menu idly as she worked her way up and down the counter. He was deciding between three different omelets when someone tapped his shoulder.

"Want some company?" Jared asked.

"Go ahead," Jensen said. He put his menu down, glanced at Jared, and was instantly glad he hadn't had a mouthful of coffee when he looked. Jared wore a tight, gray wife-beater and jeans, and his skin glistened with sweat underneath. His hair fell in brown waves around his face, curling a little at the ends, and now that Jensen could see his shoulders, he had to admit that, yeah, they were rippling as Jared leaned across the counter for a menu of his own.

"Not gonna shower before you come see me today?" Adrianne asked as she filled Jared's cup.

He grinned and gestured down at his legs. "I changed outta my workout shorts," he offered. "And I washed my face?"

She laughed. "Uh huh," she said. "You two know what you want yet?"

Jensen looked sideways at Jared, but Jared didn't seem to care that they'd been lumped together. They ordered, and Jensen grinned a little as Adrianne took their orders to the back.

"You look beat," Jared said.

Jensen snorted into his coffee. "That bad?"

Jared tilted his head and seesawed one hand in midair. Jensen sighed and shrugged.

"S'not like I packed for this side trip," Jensen said. He frowned down at his clothes. "Is there even anywhere I can buy clothes, here?"

"Nothing high end," Jared admitted easily, "but there's the surplus store. I get my work clothes there."

"Where do you work?" Jensen asked. He turned on his stool to fully face Jared. "You've just been hanging around since I got here."

"Since yesterday, you mean?"

Jensen rolled his eyes. "Seems like longer."

"I work at the garage. Uh, down that way?" He pointed down the street, in the opposite direction from Sandy's office. Jensen hadn't been that way since he got into town, and he hadn't noticed a garage then.

"Mechanic?" Jensen asked. That would explain the thick veins visible on Jared's hands and wrists.

"Part-time," Jared said. "I'm taking classes, too, the rest of the time."

"That's cool," Jensen said absently. He realized, after Jared stayed silent for a few moments, that he was staring at how Jared's fingers wrapped around his white mug completely, dwarfing it. Jensen jerked his gaze back to Jared's face and found him smirking a little. Jensen stared for a moment longer, then grinned back and turned to watch the cooks through the order window.

"What're you taking?" he asked, much later than he should have.

"Getting my liberal arts stuff out of the way – history, English, stuff like that."

"Mmm."

"I'm gonna do engineering," Jared continued, "but I want to get as much done now as I can, you know?"

"Not really," Jensen said, and then frowned at his unexpected honesty. He shrugged to cover it up. "Went to LA instead of school. But yeah, I can see how that'd make sense."

Jared just nodded and started toying with the rim of his mug. Jensen frowned and glanced away for a moment – he hated small talk, but Jared was the only person in this speed trap who'd been friendly to Jensen outside of a professional capacity. Jared was the only one he might have wanted to know, even if this hadn't blown up in his face.

"Uh, Doc said there was somewhere around here I could get a room," Jensen said, forging ahead even though the words felt too close to asking Jared to get a room _with him_. "But he didn't say where, so I don't know where to look."

"There's Sandy's place," Jared said, looking up at Jensen again.

"Oh yeah?" Jensen moved his coffee as Adrianne brought their food: two plates stacked high with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast. "Looks great," he told her.

Jared glanced quickly at Jensen, and seemed to relax when Jensen immediately forked a bite into his mouth and moaned. The eggs were hot and perfect, neither soggy nor overcooked.

"Sandy's is the only place in town, really," Jared said. "There's a motel the next town down the road, but without a car…"

"Yeah, that wouldn't work out." Jensen looked around the diner but couldn't find a clock anywhere. Outside, the sun shone brightly, but that meant nothing more specific than daytime to Jensen. "You know what time it is?" Jensen asked. "When does she open?"

"Uh," Jared pulled a phone from his back pocket. "Almost nine. She'll probably be open when we're done here."

"Maybe you can show me where that other store is, too," Jensen said, and pulled a face. "I'll be happy not to wear these ever again."

Jared paused, fork halfway to his mouth, then nodded deliberately and took the bite. When they finished, Jensen tipped big for both of them.

The streets were mostly empty when they left the diner. A school bus rumbled past, empty. Jared waved to a few people, but they walked silently until they reached the surplus store.

A bell rang as Jared pushed open the door. Jensen followed him inside and found the surplus store less overflowing with camo than he'd expected. Military merchandise – clothing and boots, mostly, but also a few knives – filled some shelves, but at least half of the displays seemed to be camping equipment. Jensen also saw an arrangement of kid's books and a rack of what looked like vintage housedresses.

"Just a sec," a woman called from the back room.

"It's Jared," he answered, and led Jensen towards the clothes with a jerk of his head.

"Oh, well, morning," someone else yelled. A few minutes later, a blonde and a brunette pushed open a swinging _Employees Only_ door. They both carried plastic-wrapped underwear, which apparently belonged near the packages of t-shirts Jared was trying to press upon Jensen.

"You need help with anything?" the brunette, arms full of socks, asked.

Jared shook his head. "Just getting clothes."

The blonde – boxer-briefs – smirked at Jared. "Awfully rude, running through all his clothes like that."

Jensen felt himself start to flush, but Jared tipped back his head and laughed. "Just lost his luggage," Jared said. He turned back to Jensen and introduced them. "Jensen, Katie and Genevieve. Katie and Genevieve, Jensen."

They all juggled clothes until they could shake hands, then stood a little awkwardly, smiling at each other.

"You visiting Jared?" Katie asked after a second. Genevieve turned back to her work but angled her body towards the three of them.

"Passing through, really." Jensen wanted to rub the back of his neck. "He's been showing me around."

She nodded. "Need anything specific?"

Jensen glanced down at his arms. He already held a few solid-color t-shirts, a pair of jeans, and a package of socks. Jared stood next to Genevieve, elbowing her as he flipped through packages of underwear, and okay, Jensen was drawing the line somewhere.

"Boots!" he said, loudly enough that Jared and Genevieve looked over. "I mean, you think, Jared? Boots seem smart to me."

Jared shrugged. "Yeah, probably."

Jensen shoved his clothes at Jared and they followed Katie to a wall of shoes. He left the store with two plastic bags full of stuff, one of which Jared insisted on carrying.

"Even up the load," he said, but then took the sack of socks and shirts, leaving Jensen with the heavier jeans and boots. Jensen shrugged. Jared carried his bag in his right hand, away from Jensen, and his free arm kept brushing against Jensen's as they walked. After the third time it happened on the same block, Jensen realized Jared hadn't been shifting away from him. He moved his own bag to his left hand, so their other hands swung empty between them. He skimmed the back of his hand against Jared's, and when Jared didn't jerk away, glanced over. Jared met his gaze and smiled slow before stopping.

"This is it," he said.

Jensen raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"

Jared laughed and gestured to the building behind himself, in front of Jensen. "Sandy's."

"Oh! Uh, right." Jensen looked away from Jared, and yeah, there they were, back in front of Sandy's office.

"C'mon," Jared said, and turned to jog up the steps.

"You must really not have much to do around here," Jensen said as they sat in the waiting room. He realized a beat too late, after Jared frowned, how that must have sounded. "Not that – I mean, I appreciate the company, but." He shrugged. "I don't wanna waste all your time."

Jared raised his eyebrows and leaned back on the couch, stretching a little. One of his knees knocked against Jensen's, and neither moved away from the contact. "Doesn't feel too wasted," Jared said. He held Jensen's gaze for a few minutes longer, then pulled out his phone. "Plus, it's still early in the morning. This is hardly all my time."

Sandy came out from her office, just as business-casual as the day before in a button-down blouse and a truly terrifying pair of heels.

"Jared," she frowned, when Jensen explained what he wanted, "you know I don't take drop-ins during the week. Nothing personal," she said, turning to Jensen, "but I require reservations, usually. None of the rooms are really ready, and –"

"No, it's okay," Jensen said, though his stomach sank, and he knew he wasn't hiding his own frown. "I just figured, since I already did business with you – I'll go somewhere else. It's fine."

But Sandy shook her head and frowned. "Not, it's not – the motel shut down a few months ago. There isn't –" She broke off and tapped the lid of her pen against her lips; she looked at Jared, instead of Jensen, as she thought.

"C'mon, Sandy," Jared wheedled. Jensen glanced up and had to keep himself from laughing. Jared had an impressive puppy face.

Sandy tapped a few times more, then sighed and shook her head. "I hope you don't mind waiting a bit," she said. "I'll need to make up the bed before you get in there."

"That's fine," Jensen said quickly, and smiled at her. "It's not a problem at all."

She frowned at Jared for some reason, then turned and headed to the back. Jensen glanced at Jared and bumped their shoulders together.

"How'd you pull that?" Jensen asked.

"Pull what?" Jared looked distractedly out the window.

"She just broke her own rules for you," Jensen said. When he saw Jared start shaking his head, he kept going. "No, that was not for me at all. That was for you."

Jared shrugged. "We're friends, is all."

Jensen raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, and we used to be engaged. Is that what you're looking for?"

Jensen's other eyebrow shot up as well. "Seriously?"

Jared paused, then grinned widely and shook his head. "Nah. She just wanted me for my body."

Jared's smile seemed fake around the edges. Jensen couldn't tell if he was kidding or not, but either way Jared looked uncomfortable, hunching over a little.

"Can't say as I blame her," Jensen said, and let his eyes slip down to Jared's chest and across his arms. When he glanced back up, Jared's face was red and his smile crinkled his eyes.

.

Jensen showed back up to Doc's later that morning, once he'd showered, shaved, and changed. His clothes all felt too new, stiff and slightly itchy, but they at least smelled clean. Doc looked him over and nodded, then jerked his chin towards the window.

"I got rid of the old glazing compound while you were farting around this morning," Doc said.

Jensen clenched his jaw and didn't rise to the bait.

"We'll be priming the wood next, before we trim the new glass," Doc continued, "so get some gloves on."

Although Doc made clear he wasn't happy to work with Jensen, the rest of the day passed much smoother than Jensen expected. Doc didn't try to make small talk, and the shop was quiet as they worked. A few people stopped by to talk to Doc through the open window. Instead of the irritable man keeping Jensen in town over what amounted to a grudge, Doc was friendly, if gruff, to everyone else who stopped by. He asked after children and grandparents, and joked good-naturedly about the mess and repairs. He introduced Jensen as the guy helping him out, not as the guy responsible for the whole thing in the first place.

Jensen eavesdropped on Doc's conversations with a blonde woman named Tal, who seemed to be the shop's other pharmacist.

"I'll give you a call when this is done," Doc said. "Day or two longer, probably."

She nodded. "Alright. I'll stop by tomorrow – you want me to bring lunch?" She looked past Doc to include Jensen in her gaze. He smiled at her quickly and went back to work. Hopefully he'd looked busy the entire time.

"Nah, just stop by," Doc said. He pulled an envelope from the back pocket of his jeans and handed it to Tal. She looked inside and raised her eyebrows.

"What's this?" she asked. "Am I under the table now?"

Doc shook his head. "The check for the downtime came through yesterday. Been meaning to get it to you, but didn't have a chance until now."

She tucked the envelope deep into her purse. "I thought you weren't expecting this for at least a few weeks."

"Worked out better than I'd hoped," Doc said, glancing briefly at Jensen. Jensen turned his back on the pair.

Instead of really breaking for lunch around noon, Doc called the diner and had a few sandwiches delivered. He paid and tipped the delivery kid before Jensen had a chance to strike up a conversation, then disappeared with his meal into his office. Jensen stood alone in the pharmacy for a few minutes before taking a cold bottle of water from the refrigerated display and eating in the break room.

They spent the afternoon caulking the perimeter of the window frame, and it was almost evening when they were ready to set the new sheet of glass. Doc brushed his hands off and grudgingly spoke to Jensen.

"We'll finish it tomorrow," he said. "Shouldn't take too long. Be here by eight." He turned away from Jensen and fiddled with something behind the checkout counter. Jensen stripped off his gloves, dropped them carelessly on Doc's pile of equipment, and let the door bang shut behind him.

After watching Doc spend all afternoon being perfectly civil to everyone but Jensen, Jensen wasn't feeling very personable. He was _trying_ to clean up after himself – and okay, he'd've preferred to clean up with money instead of with physical labor – but Doc didn't seem to care. He'd forced Jensen to stay here even though he had to know it could be bad for his career, and then he was an asshole through the whole thing.

Jensen worked himself into a pretty bad mood by the time he reached Sandy's. He used the key she'd given him to open the B&amp;B half of the building and fought the urge to slam that door shut, too. He stomped through the sitting area, heading for his room and his shower, and didn't even notice Jared sitting on the couth until Jared cleared his throat.

"Shit," Jensen said, and turned. "Warn a guy."

"Sorry," Jared said, not sounding it. "C'mon, get changed."

Jensen raised his eyebrows. "Did I miss something here?"

Jared was more clothed than this morning, in a snug gray tee and jeans, but he still looked damn good. The shirt pulled tight over his chest and shoulders, and his legs seemed to stretch forever as he stood up. Jensen felt his bad mood start to slip away.

"Come out with me," Jared said. "I'm bored."

"I imagine that happens a lot around here," Jensen said.

Jared shrugged, not denying it. "C'mon," he said. One side of his mouth slid up in a slow grin. "What else were you gonna do?"

"Sleep," Jensen answered honestly, but he smiled back.

"You can sleep after," Jared said. His raised eyebrow told Jensen that they might be on the same page after all.

"Lemme change," Jensen said slowly and headed down the hallway to his room. He considered inviting Jared with him, but caught a whiff of himself while he unlocked the door and decided a shower was definitely in order first.

"Where're we going?" he asked instead.

"Cow tipping," Jared called back. Jensen glanced down the hall but he couldn't see Jared's face clearly.

"Seriously?"

Jared laughed. "Hurry up and see."

.

Jensen's cock hung pleasantly heavy as he dressed. He wasn't precisely hard, but it wouldn't take much. The idea of setting off into the darkness with just Jared had Jensen thinking hopefully through the possibilities.

"So, cows?" he asked, after he locked up again and set off with Jared down the street.

"Nah," Jared said. "Not really. It's something else."

They headed back into town and stopped at the squinty guy's juice place.

"Jared!" the guy called from behind the counter. "Flip the sign for me. I was about to give up on your ass and leave."

Jared turned the _Open_ sign in the door over to _Closed_. Jensen stood to the side while Jared walked behind the counter, hugged the guy, and then started tossing chunks of fruit into a blender.

"This is Jensen," Jared said as he worked. "Jensen, Chad. Chad, Jensen."

They shook hands.

"So Jared's roped you into his walking tour of the town, huh?" Chad asked.

"Uh," Jensen said.

"Man, I've told you not to call it that." Jared put the lid on the blender, pulsed it for a few seconds, and then poured honey and soymilk over the fruit. "How'd you know, anyway?"

"Bananas, berries, and pineapple," Chad said. He pointed to the blender. "You do strawberry when you stay home. This is your walking-around blend."

Jared laughed and turned back to the blender. "You know me too well."

"You come in and mess with my shop, damn straight I'm paying attention." Chad hopped up to sit next to the row of mixers and peered at Jensen. "You from outta town?"

"Jesus, is it that obvious?" Jensen asked. "That's the first thing anyone says to me here."

Jared glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Jensen. Jensen realized that Jared hadn't asked him that, but then Jared also hadn't exactly run across Jensen in a shop. Jensen shrugged at him and Jared grinned, then pulled two Styrofoam cups from a stack on the counter and poured their smoothies.

"It's not a big place, dude," Chad said. "We notice when someone new stops by."

Jensen shrugged again. "I'm just in town for a few days," he said.

"Whatever." Chad slid off the counter. "You want something to go with those?"

"Of course," Jared said.

Chad took a paper bag from a cabinet, flicked his wrist to snap it noisily open, and took it into the back. Jared was struggling to put lids onto their cups; each one was so full that the liquid threatened to ooze over the top. He finally gave up, brought one cup to his mouth, and slurped some of the excess off.

"Sorry," he said, and handed Jensen the other smoothie to even out, along with a lid and a straw. "I usually just make these for myself, so I guess I went overboard, trying for two."

Jensen sipped and closed his eyes briefly at the smooth, fruity taste. The flavors blended perfectly, with nothing overpowering. Jensen licked his lips and opened his eyes to find Jared watching him carefully.

"It's good," Jensen said. Jared smiled and held his gaze quietly for a while. Jensen's dick twitched at the intent, clear in Jared's eyes.

He looked away and fumbled the lid onto his cup when Chad carried the bag back to them. The paper was folded over at the top, and it sagged a little at the bottom. Jensen couldn't tell what it held, but Chad carried it as though it were important.

"How much do I owe you, man?" Jared asked, going for his wallet.

"The usual." Chad put the bag on the counter and Jared turned his back to Jensen as he paid, effectively hiding his hands. Jensen snorted and turned to look out the window instead.

"You look familiar," Chad said, as he accompanied them out the door and locked up.

"Yeah, probably." Jensen slid his hands into his back pockets and shrugged. Something about Chad's outright questions made Jensen more comfortable than everyone else's sneaky glances and unsubtle hints. "I'm an actor."

Chad nodded. "Porn?"

Jared laughed, but Jensen just shrugged again. "Nah."

"No, really," Chad said. He stood in front of Jensen and studied his face intently. "You've got something coming out this summer, don't you?"

Jensen hesitated, taking a sip of smoothie to buy some time, then shrugged and nodded. "_Lightning_," he said. "Comes out next week. You should check it out."

Jensen grinned as Chad's eyes widened, and he jerked his head – c'mon – at Jared. They turned and were headed off before Chad got his mouth working again.

"Can you hook me up with Jessica Alba?" he called.

Jensen laughed and shook his head without looking back. He was aware of Jared watching him but didn't do anything to stop it.

"You gonna tell me where we're going or not?" Jensen asked.

"S'this way, actually." Jared ducked into an alley between two buildings. Jensen raised his eyebrows but followed willingly enough. He was trying to find the most promising bit of wall to fuck against when he realized they'd come out the other end of the alley. Jensen raised his eyebrows further but Jared just kept walking, ahead of him.

They crossed a small, empty parking lot behind the buildings and continued on, into the brush that surrounded the town. Jared wasn't using any trail or path that Jensen could tell, but just walked. Jensen sipped his smoothie and hurried a little to walk beside Jared's shoulder.

"Seriously, if you're gonna ritually kill me or something, I want out."

Jared snorted and shook his head. "There," he said, and pointed to their right. Jensen didn't see anything at first, but then he noticed a large industrial complex in the distance – a few rectangular buildings, smokestacks, and a large, empty parking lot.

"Factory?" he asked.

"Yes." Jared turned them towards the building and set off again.

"We couldn't have driven?" Jensen bitched, only mostly kidding.

"It's like a mile this way," Jared said. "The road is the long way."

Jensen rolled his eyes, but they reached the factory quicker than he expected, following Jared's lead. He took Jensen into the main building through a set of glass doors under a sign in disrepair: _WELCOME VIS TORS TO SP N PAPER PRODU TS._

The entryway was open and airy, even with a layer of dust and dirt covering everything. A circular desk faced the doors, and a wide staircase followed the wall to the left. Jensen studied the framed black and white pictures lining the wall as they went up the stairs. The photographs showed the parking lot full of cars and the smokestacks gushing smog; men in suits at a ceremonial ribbon cutting; workers in goggles and overalls, holding kids on their shoulders outside the building.

When they reached the stop of the stairs, Jared went through a door labeled _Observation Deck_. Jensen followed him onto a long, covered balcony. He glanced up and down and saw that it spanned almost half the length of the building.

Jared walked to the center of the deck and sat down with his back against the wall, so that he looked out over the desert. He patted the dirty spot of floor next to his hip and glanced expectedly at Jensen. Jensen hesitated for just a moment, unsure about the sand piled against the wall, then shrugged and plopped down next to Jared.

The desert spread out before them, with the setting sun throwing long shadows over the landscape. Mountains and rock formations rose and fell in the distance, and the town glimmered off to the side. The sunset bled across the horizon directly in front of Jared and Jensen, with hot reds and purples behind the mountains blurring gradually into star-flecked darkness.

Jensen whistled low and bumped his shoulder against Jared's. "This is pretty cool," he admitted.

"Awesome place for a ritual killing," Jared agreed. He put his smoothie down next to him and opened the paper sack, coming up with three joints in a plastic baggie, as well as some truly enormous brownies in Saran-Wrap.

"You wanna?" He waved the pot at Jensen, who nodded.

"I'm up for it," he said. Jared's eyes flicked to Jensen's and he grinned before digging through his pockets for a lighter.

Jared tucked two of the joints away after they lit the third. They passed the weed back and forth as the sunset faded. Jensen sipped his smoothie while Jared took a few hits, and then Jared drank while Jensen smoked.

Jensen stretched his legs out in front of him as the high took hold. Jared stubbed the joint out after they smoked it down to his fingertips. Jensen felt his limbs start to tingle, and he rubbed his palms over his thighs. The sensation spread through the denim. Jensen squirmed pleasantly as he started to get hard, and he knocked his shoulder against Jared's.

"What is this place?" The question fell out of Jensen's mouth before he fully realized he'd been curious. It wasn't what he'd meant to ask, but he went with it, still working his hands over his legs.

"Old factory." Jared leaned into Jensen, so their arms and shoulders pressed against each other. "Used to be Spin Paper Products, made all sortsa shit. Paper towels, paper plates, just plain paper."

"What happened?" Jensen asked. "S'all. Abandoned and creepy now."

Jared stretched his legs out and Jensen forgot the question. His boots knocked against Jensen's, their thighs brushed, and Jensen didn't hesitate to slide his hand off his own leg and onto Jared's. Jared's jeans felt soft under Jensen's fingers, nothing like the stiff, new pair that Jensen wore. He slipped his hand down between Jared's thighs to trace his inseam. Jared kept his leg very still under Jensen's fingers, but his breath started coming fast and hard. Jensen grinned when he brushed over Jared's dick, lower than he'd expected, huge and hard and trapped in the denim.

When Jensen turned his head, he found Jared staring at him. His eyes were red and barely open, and Jared leaned in when Jensen did. Their lips crashed together, uncoordinated, and Jared laughed into his mouth. Jared's lips tasted fresh and fruity under the weed's sickly sweetness, and he opened up immediately for Jensen's tongue.

They made out there for a long while, just pressing their hands into each other's bodies. Time stretched out around them, and the pot emphasized every sensation, so that Jensen could focus on everything. Jared's mouth was hot and slick over his, his tiny groans loud in Jensen's ears, and every brush of Jared's hands over Jensen's skin set him on fire. What would have been a tame sweep over Jensen's chest or thigh actually made him moan and arch into the touch.

Jensen panted when Jared pulled away, and the sky was completely dark around them. Jensen kept his hands on Jared, one still on his thigh and the other wound in Jared's hair, and tried to get back to Jared's mouth. Jared laughed and dodged him long enough to get to Chad's bag. Jensen watched, amused, as Jared unwrapped a brownie, but his eyes widened when Jared climbed into his lap.

"Munchies," Jared said, settling close in Jensen's lap. Jensen gripped Jared's hips and tugged him further down, so he could thrust up against Jared's ass. Jared ground against Jensen and smiled down at him, dimples popping out. Jensen let his head fall back against the wall and stared as Jared broke off a corner of the brownie. He raised it to his own mouth and locked his gaze on Jensen's as he popped it into his mouth.

Jensen groaned as Jared closed his eyes and arched his back while he chewed. Jared's face smoothed out in pleasure and he moaned around his mouthful. Jensen stared up and imagined Jared moaning like that around his dick, and then his train of thought shifted, giving him Jared's eyes squeezed in such pleasure because of Jensen's mouth on his body. It was almost enough to make Jensen shoot in his pants. He thrust against Jared, over and over, until Jared swallowed, throat working hard. He opened his eyes and smiled down, huge, at Jensen.

"You gotta try this," he said, slightly out of breath. Jensen nodded eagerly and watched Jared pull off another bite.

"Special brownies?" he asked.

Jared shook his head. "Just really fucking good," he said, and brought the brownie chunk to Jensen's mouth.

Jensen parted his lips immediately and let Jared feed him. Jared's fingers rested lightly on Jensen's lips as he chewed, and the brownie itself tasted pretty fucking awesome – perfectly thick, moist and chewy. Jensen moaned as the rich chocolate spread across his tongue, and Jared whimpered back, above him. Jensen tightened his grip on Jared's hips as he swallowed, and tilted his head back to pant up at Jared.

Jared swept his thumb over Jensen's lips again. "Crumbs," he said.

Jensen opened his mouth and sucked Jared's thumb clean, holding his gaze as he ran first his tongue and then his teeth over the pad of Jared's thumb. Jared groaned and dropped the brownie back into the open sack in favor of pressing his hand hard against his own dick, through his jeans.

"That's so fucking hot," he said, and Jensen had enough.

He wound his fingers in Jared's belt loops and yanked until Jared rose up on his knees, kneeling over Jensen's lap with his crotch in Jensen's face. Jared crumpled over Jensen's head to lean one arm against the wall and Jensen pressed his face to the strip of skin visible above Jared's belt.

Jensen fumbled Jared's jeans open as quickly as he could and pulled out his dick, hot and already leaking. Jensen stared for a moment and then latched his lips around the head of Jared's cock. He hummed appreciatively as the salt and musk of Jared's precome mingled with the chocolate still in his mouth, and Jared answered with a ragged groan.

Jared laid one careful hand on the side of Jensen's head even while his hips surged forward. Jensen could only see Jared's chest when he glanced up, but he mentally shrugged and kept going. He wrapped one hand around the base of Jared's cock, slid the other around his waist and under his shirt, and relaxed his jaw.

Under the fuzzy pot haze, Jared's dick slipping back and forth through Jensen's lips was awesome. Jared ran his fingers distractedly through the patch of hair under his hand and moaned as his thighs started to tremble. Jensen tightened the suction in his mouth and moved his free hand down the back of Jared's pants. He slid the tip of his middle finger down Jared's crack and then Jared shoved his dick as far into Jensen's mouth as Jensen would let him, coming and shaking hard.

Jensen worked fast to swallow as Jared pumped into his mouth. He gentled his lips and kept sucking until Jared shuddered and pulled his dick out. Jensen stayed eye-level with Jared's flushed cock for a few moments while Jared shook and breathed hard, still recovering against the wall. Jensen's own dick throbbed in his jeans, but he could wait, and let the tension keep building. After Jared caught his breath, he tucked his dick away and slithered back down into Jensen's lap.

Jared's chocolately tongue was an almost shocking contrast to the bitter aftertaste of come in Jensen's mouth. He licked aggressively into Jared's mouth while Jared worked Jensen's pants open and started jerking his dick without hesitation. Jensen shoved both hands far down the back of Jared's pants, kneading his ass while he thrust up into Jared's hand. Jared kept working him hard and steady, swiping the thumb of his other hand back and forth across the slit of Jensen's dick, and he drove every other thought out of Jensen's head.

Jensen's orgasm came almost out of nowhere, taking him by surprise. He gasped into Jared's mouth as his hips shot up in uncontrollable jerky thrusts. Jared worked him throughout, and by the time Jensen put his hand on Jared's wrists to still his strokes, their mouths tasted the same.

Jensen slumped against the wall while Jared pulled napkins from Chad's bag and cleaned up. Jared must have kept an eye on Jensen, because as soon as Jensen closed his hand around his dick to tuck himself into his pants, Jared grinned wickedly and licked a smear of come off the back of his hand. Jensen's dick twitched again and he groaned.

"You trying to kill me?" he asked.

"Hey, you never asked what the ritual was." Jared finally clambered off Jensen's lap and sprawled next to him again. He pulled the bag over so it rested between then and grinned at Jensen, looking pleasantly fucked-out. His lips were red and swollen, his hair tousled, skin sweaty. "You want s'more brownie or what?"

The brownie was long forgotten in favor of trading chocolatey kisses when something in the factory boomed below them. Their lips smacked wetly as they pulled apart, eyes wide. Jared cocked his head to listen, and Jensen stayed silent for a few moments.

"What was that?" he finally whispered, when no noise came immediately after the first. Jared just shook his head and held up one finger – wait.

Another bang rang out, this one closer, and Jared yanked away from Jensen to stand.

"Shit," he said. He held out his hands to Jensen, who grabbed on and let himself be hauled up. "That's Eric – we need to get outta here."

"Eric?" Jensen parroted. "Who's Eric?"

Jared shook his head, grabbed up the bag, and drug Jensen back towards the doors. Another set clanged open on the far side of the balcony, and a flashlight beam swept the floor. Jensen saw the light move erratically over the stretch where they'd been sitting, and then he stopped trying to look and followed Jared.

They thundered down the staircase in the dark. Jensen clung to Jared with one hand and trailed the other blindly over the wall. In their hurry, they kicked up dirt and debris that hadn't been disturbed on their way up, so the air hung thick with dust.

They'd almost reached the ground floor when the door to the observation deck knocked loudly open. The beam of light passed over them and Jensen almost stumbled as the steps below were suddenly illuminated. Someone behind them, presumably Eric, roared.

"Trespassers!" he screamed, and his feet came heavily down the steps as well. "Get out! Get off!"

Even as he and Jared skidded across the dusty tile entryway and burst out the doors, Jensen laughed at Eric's phrasing. They tore outside and ran parallel to the building, staying in the darkness as much as they could. Jared led them to the parking lot instead of back into the desert; asphalt made for easier running than dirt.

Jensen's feet pounded next to Jared's as they ran almost in time. Their clasped hands still hung between them, like children in a fairy tale. Eric screamed at them a few more times, but they kept moving past the factory and into the moonlit empty parking lot, and he didn't leave the building.

Jensen slowed as they worked their way across the lot and Jared followed his lead. They stopped running and started walking, and Jensen pulled his hand free to scrub his fingers through his hair and over his face. Jared stayed next to him as they crossed the lot's faded white lines. They both breathed fast, but neither was completely winded.

"Okay, so," Jensen finally asked, glancing over his shoulder at the empty building, "who the hell was that?"

"Eric Kripke," Jared said. "Used to be, I dunno, a supervisor or manager or someone at the plant, and he didn't take it well when things shut down."

"When was that?" Jensen's head felt cleared now, after running through the fresh air. "You never actually told me about that."

"Yeah, sorry." Jared sounded pretty pleased with himself, though. "It's nothing unusual. Company had problems for a few years, kept laying people off, and finally shut down. Lots of the town left to go work other places, but Eric didn't. He just." Jared shrugged. "He just stayed."

"In the empty factory?" Jensen raised his eyebrows.

"This way." Jared pointed down the road, back to town. They walked down the center of the street, one of them on either side of the white stripe, and the backs of their hands brushed with every few steps.

"Eric cared a lot about the factory," Jared said. "He'd been a writer or something before but he never broke out, and he threw himself into his work here – that's what everyone said, anyway. He stuck around for the people who were still working, and." Jared shrugged again.

"Went down with the ship?"

"Something like that."

"So the town wasn't always like this?" Jensen asked.

"Nah, things were good when the plant was running," Jared said. "Ostroff, the owner, pretty much bailed, but she still owns some stuff in town, too, and that's going about as well." He frowned. "Meg's the only one whose business is actually good. Sometimes I think we'd all go under without her."

Jensen didn't know what to say to that.

After a while, Jared nudged their shoulders together and looked meaningfully up when Jensen glanced over. Jensen followed his gaze and couldn't help a gasp at the bright expanse of stars above them. He walked for a while with his head tipped back, not paying attention to the street. Jared's should was pressed firmly against his own, and Jensen let that anchor him as he went.

"That's pretty amazing," Jensen said, as he rolled his head back and forth to stretch out his neck and then looked ahead again. The town lights glittered in the distance, far off down the road. Jensen realized he hadn't seen any cars since they'd been out, and he didn't see any now, either. They seemed completely alone in the night.

Jensen snuck a glance at Jared. He went easily down the road, swinging the paper bag in his free hand and walking a step closer to Jensen than he really needed. Jared's shirt was wrinkled where Jensen pushed it up, and his hair curled above his neck with sweat. His lips were still red and bitten, and a mouth-shaped bruise bloomed under his jaw.

They walked mostly in silence on the way back to town. Their feet slapped steadily against the pavement, and their arms kept brushing. Jensen's pulse jumped every time Jared's fingers touched his own, and he finally wrapped his hand around Jared's wrist. Jensen didn't link their fingers, but instead just held onto Jared, rubbing his thumb across the delicate skin covering Jared's pulse. Jared cast him a sideways glance and a grin but didn't say anything.

The houses on the edge of town stood dark and shuttered when Jared and Jensen walked past.

"Is it always this quiet?" Jensen asked. He wanted to whisper but didn't really know why.

"It's a weeknight." Jared shrugged. "Weeknights are slow."

"I gathered," Jensen said. He finally slid his hand onto Jared's palm and let their fingers slip together. "Seriously, though." He waved his other hand around the deserted street. Up ahead, the diner was lit up, but none of the other shops looked open. Jared was the only person Jensen had seen, since they left town. "If the town's dying, why are you hanging around here?"

Jared raised his eyebrows and stopped walking. Jensen winced internally, but Jared just glanced over Jensen's shoulder. "This is you," he said.

Jensen looked and found they were in front of Sandy's. The porch light was on.

"You wanna come in?" Jensen tugged Jared closer, hopefully. Jared let himself be pulled in for another slow kiss, but he stepped back, untangling their fingers, before Jensen could get a hand under his clothes.

"I've got the morning shift tomorrow," he said, stepping backwards.

"You could still," Jensen tried, not even knowing what suggestion would follow, but Jared shook his head.

"Maybe I'll see you," Jared said. He smiled at Jensen, but not widely enough to dimple, then turned and walked away. Jensen watched him go for a few steps, then headed up the porch.

Jensen unlocked the door and stepped inside as quietly as he could. He locked up and rested his forehead on the door for a few minutes. The wood felt comfortingly cool and solid.

This time, he noticed Sandy sitting on the couch when he turned around. Her shoes were lined up neatly on the floor in front of her, and her feet were tucked under her floral skirt. A book lay, closed and cover-down, on the lap.

"It's not too late or something, is it?" Jensen asked guiltily. "I have no idea what time it is without my phone."

"No, there's no curfew," Sandy said. She studied Jensen for a moment longer, then smiled and gestured to the door. "So, you and Jared?"

Jensen hesitated. He hadn't had a chance to look at himself in the mirror, but chances were good that he looked about as wholesome as Jared did right now. He glanced around the room and then shrugged. "It's not a – a thing," he said.

Sandy's smile stayed in place but her jaw clenched.

"He's a cool guy and all," Jensen said, "but." He shrugged again. "I'm not exactly sticking around for long. It's nothing serious."

Sandy arched an eyebrow. "Then you need to make sure he knows that. I don't want to see him get hurt."

Jensen looked away. "Yeah, okay."

"Do you mean that?" Sandy rose and walked to stand in front of Jensen. He avoided her gaze for as long as he could, but finally met her eyes again. Her face was set in hard lines, and even though she barely came up to his shoulders, Jensen was suddenly glad he'd avoided facing her down in court. He thought he had a better idea of her history with Jared, now.

"Jared trusts you," she said simply. Jensen looked down again but she kept going. "I do, too, or I wouldn't have let you stay here."

Jensen rubbed the back of his neck, then looked into Sandy's face. "I'm having as much fun here with Jared as I can, but I haven't done anything to make him feel like this is serious."

"Do you want it to be serious?" she asked.

"What? No." Jensen shook his head immediately, but Sandy raised her eyebrows higher and he felt his frown slide away. "Okay, maybe if things were different, I might, but – you know, I've gotta be up early tomorrow, so I was planning on getting to bed, here."

Sandy frowned but eventually nodded. "Just think about it," she said slowly.

Jensen smiled tightly and she picked up her shoes, then turned towards the hallway.

"I thought you were heading home," Jensen said. He unlocked his door and watched Sandy take her own set of keys out at a room at the end of the hall.

"I am," she called over her shoulder, and opened the door. "Where did you think I lived?" She pulled the door closed behind her, then opened it again and leveled a stern stare at Jensen. "I wanted you under my roof for a reason," she said. "You hurt my Jared, there's gonna be a problem."

She closed the door firmly this time. Jensen mouthed _my Jared_ at the empty hall, eyebrows high, then sighed and went in to bed.

.

Doc brushed his hands off before the new window before he picked up his travel mug and walked backwards, checking out the glass. Jensen flexed and extended his fingers a few times, then stepped back to look over their work as well. The glass was covered in dust and tape, but it glinted brightly under the mess. They'd used tiny triangular glazing points to attach the glass to the wood, pressing each one into place with a putty knife. Glazing compound still needed to be spread around the edges of the glass, to seal it to the building, but the end was finally in sight.

"Let's take five," Doc offered. He drained his coffee and shook the empty cup, then headed to the back of the store without glancing at Jensen.

Jensen rolled his eyes and stood alone in the front of the store for a few moments. The shelves were full of neatly ordered products, dust motes and sawdust flecks floated through the air, and the street ahead was quiet and empty. Jensen felt an unexpected flush of pride at having helped restore this place.

He wondered what Jared was up to, and licked his lips as his dick tried to stir. He had no plans of beating it here – the very last thing he needed was Doc filing some sort of public indecency charge – but he brushed his fingers over a tender spot under his ear and grinned. This shouldn't get serious, regardless of what Sandy thought, but it'd been a hell of a lot of fun so far.

Jensen was leaning against the checkout counter when Doc came back, nursing a refill.

"Get up," Doc said. "I wanna get this done so we'll be through by lunch."

Jensen nodded and went for the broom and dustpan. He'd swept up and was kneeling to get the last of it when someone knocked on the closed door. Jensen glanced up, stupidly excited at the thought of a visit from Jared, but a woman with straight, dark hair stood outside instead. She watched Doc, and Jensen chased down the last line of dust without waving.

"Hello, Lauren," Doc said, after he opened the door. He held it and she came inside.

"Hi, Doc," Lauren said, in an improbable British accent. "I heard you were opening today, but…" She waved a hand around the shop."

"Finishing repairs today," Doc corrected. "Opening up tomorrow."

"Oh." Jensen glanced up at the worry in Lauren's voice and saw her frowning. "I don't suppose –"

She glanced at Jensen. He smiled tightly and stood to dump out the dustpan.

"My prescription ran out yesterday," she said in a lowered voice. Jensen winced and turned all his attention to the trash, keeping his back firmly pointed at Doc and Lauren. Probably she was just talking about birth control, and nothing more serious, but he was almost certain he wasn't supposed to be hearing this.

"Ackles," Doc barked.

Jensen paused, then glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

Doc pulled off his work gloves and tossed them to Jensen. "Put these in my office," he said, and turned his attention back to Lauren.

Jensen rolled his eyes but gladly took the excuse to let the two talk. He took his time heading to the back.

When he pushed open the door, he saw that Doc's office was small and windowless. A desk took up most of the center of the office, with a chair behind it and one more crammed in front. A few framed diplomas hung above Doc's chair, surrounded by snapshots tacked to the wall and a cloud of pastel Post-Its. Shelves covered in untidy piles of books and tchotchkes lined the walls.

Jensen took the gloves with him as he went around the room to look at the rest of the stuff: a spice rack, complete with ten different, unopened, canisters of spices; stacks of old newspapers; a My Little Ponies backpack; a bag of dried apricots; a golden statuette of some chick with wings, standing on a dome and holding a globe of interlocked rings. Jensen blinked at it a few times, then dropped Doc's gloves to the floor.

"He has a Daytime Emmy?" he breathed. "_Ho_ly shit."

Jensen leaned forward and peered at the engraving on the bottom.

"This is where Jeffrey Dean Morgan disappeared to?" Jensen glanced over his shoulder. The stretch of hallway he could see was empty, but he stared for a second anyway before turning back to the award.

"_Days of Our Lives_, 1991," Jensen read. "Holy shit."

"The hell are you doing?"

Jensen turned and found Doc standing in the hallway.

"You have an Emmy?" Jensen asked. He knew his eyes were wide, but he didn't care much about looking ridiculous.

"I've got three, not that they're doing me any good." Doc pointed at two more places on the shelf. Jensen looked and found two more Emmys, one used as a paperweight and the other with pens stuck through the rings. "Now get back out here."

Jensen whirled on Doc – Morgan – and studied his face. Under the graying hair and scruffy growth of beard, Jensen could almost recognize the actor he'd idolized as he started his own career.

"You were Timothy Hudson," he said slowly.

Morgan scowled and picked up his gloves.

"You were!" Jensen said. "Oh, man, you were great! I remember now, I saw all your stuff when I was gearing up for the Brady part!"

"Great," Morgan said. He stepped around Jensen and rifled through the papers on his desk.

"No, come on, you were amazing!" Jensen stood next to Morgan's shoulder and tried not to bounce on his toes. "I mean, yeah, it was a soap, but you were good! I figured you'd gone on to better stuff, but…" Jensen frowned and started slowing his speech. "But I never did hear about you again."

"No." Morgan turned and met Jensen's gaze. He glared. "You didn't." Morgan shouldered past Jensen and headed down the hallway. Jensen followed.

"Why? Did something – why the hell not?" He kept on Morgan's heels. "You could have gone places, you could have –"

"You really wanna know?" Morgan whirled to face Jensen. His jaw was clenched, and Jensen stumbled back a step.

"We were having a guest star come in for a few days," Morgan said. "Big fucking name, wanted the part so his grandma could see him in her stories. Guy shows up trashed one morning and plows his car into mine in the parking lot." Morgan turned to the side and pulled up his shirt, showing a swath of burnt skin wrapping around his side and over part of his back. Jensen's mouth fell open. The skin was healed now, and the scars looked smooth and pale, but it had obviously been a serious wound. Morgan lifted his chin and let his shirt fall.

"Show execs promised they'd look out for me, so long as I kept my mouth shut," Morgan went on, "but by the time I was outta the hospital and ready to go back to work, they'd moved on. They paid me off to get around the contract, and then?" Morgan sneered and shrugged, then headed back to the window. "I wasn't fully healed then, and when I couldn't find more work, I took the money and got out."

Jensen stared. "So you came back here?"

"There're good people here," Morgan called. He scooped a handful of glazing compound from the bucket at his feet and rolled it between his palms, forming it into a long, slender rope of putty. "Unlike some people I could mention."

"Hey," Jensen protested. It had been one thing to take the anger coming from Doc, some meaningless small-town pharmacist, but Jensen chafed even more under criticism from a man he'd admired. "I know I fucked up, but I'm trying to fix it here."

Morgan just shook his head. "Only after you tried to pay me off first." He pressed the putty into place around the edge of the window.

Jensen breathed hard through his nose as he joined Morgan at the window. He started to use a putty knife to force the putty into a smooth line between the glass and the wall, but Morgan shook his head and waved a hand at Jensen.

"We're done here," he said. "I can finish this. Just get out."

Jensen stared, then dropped his gloves on the floor and headed out. The door slammed behind him.

.

The diner was busy, full of people eating lunch, but Jensen found an empty seat at the bar. He grabbed a menu and stared at it while he thought. He'd never realized, until he stood in the office, that he hadn't seen Morgan act in anything since _Days_. Timothy Hudson had been nuanced in a way Jensen rarely encountered on soaps. In between the unlikely plots and smell-the-fart dialogue, Morgan made Hudson interesting.

Jensen had holed up in his apartment for weeks before he started filming, catching up on as much backstory as he could, and he'd been honestly sad when Hudson was killed off. Morgan had been one of Jensen's earliest inspirations, and knowing that Morgan could barely stand to be in the same room as Jensen left an unpleasant taste in Jensen's mouth.

"You planning on ordering today?"

Jensen glanced up and saw Megalyn in front of him, eyebrows raised and order pad ready.

"Did you know Doc used to be an actor?" he asked, instead.

She rolled her eyes and tapped her pen on the pad. "You need some more time to make up your mind?"

"Turkey and Swiss, glass of water," Jensen said. She scribbled it down and headed off. "He was on my show!" Jensen called after her. She shook her head and didn't turn back.

"Who was on your show?" Jensen looked next to him and recognized the dark-haired stylist he'd seen in passing.

"Doc," Jensen said. "He's Jeffrey Dean Morgan."

"Uh." The guy frowned. "Yeah. That's his name."

"Yeah," Jensen said. "I know. He was on _Days of Ours Lives_ like, fifteen years ago."

A bald-guy sitting further down the aisle leaned over, raised an eyebrow at Jensen, and said, "Cola zione mangiare ed il pranzo la prima gradico."

"Um, okay." Jensen frowned. "Does he –" He looked back at the dark-haired guy. "I don't speak Italian."

"Neither does he," Jared said, coming up behind them. He stood behind the two hairdressers and clapped a hand on one of each of their shoulders. "C'mon, Tom, don't y'all have a shop to run?"

The dark-haired guy rolled his eyes but stood. "Only in theory. Ostroff's never in town, and she won't know if we take a long lunch."

"No, but you sure look done." Jared glanced at their empty plates.

The bald guy tossed his napkin onto his plate and stood as well. "I pelliccia e molli simili a gatti sono," he said, and left, dragging his friend behind him.

"Your five o'clock shadow's coming in early," Jared called after him. Jensen laughed at the screeched tirade of maybe-not-Italian that the guy shot back.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, as Jared took the empty stool next to him. His hair looked damp and he smelled soapy fresh.

Jared smiled and set his feet further apart than he really needed. Jensen grinned back and moved his own foot, so their shoes bumped together.

"That's just Mikey," Jared said. He stacked the empty plates and pushed them a few inches away. "He's in an Italian phase, only he doesn't know Italian, so he –"

"Makes shit up?" Jensen asked.

Jared laughed. "Pretty much. He has a strange sense of humor – like he's not bald at all, but he thinks a hairdresser without hair is ironic, so he shaves."

Jared smiled when Megalyn brought Jensen's order, but shook his head when she tried to ask what he wanted. "Ate at home," he said.

"Then why're you here?" she asked and flipped her order pad closed.

"The pleasure of your company's not enough?" Jared flashed her a huge grin that somehow avoided seeming shit-eating.

She swept away the dirty dishes and shook her head, fighting her own smile. "What do I get out of that?"

"My company, of course."

Megalyn snorted. "Try again," she said, and headed to the back.

Jensen took a bite of his sandwich, conscious of Jared's eyes on him, and chewed and swallowed before looking over.

"Hey," Jared said, low.

"Hey," Jensen said. "Shift over?"

"Yeah." Jared reached for Jensen's glass and took a sip of water without asking. Jensen watched his throat work as he swallowed. When Jared put the glass down, the ice resettled noisily.

"Doc – Morgan, whoever – said we're done," Jensen blurted. Jared grinned widely and Jensen dropped his gaze to his plate. "I dunno if you wanted to do something or what, but –"

"Yes," Jared said.

"Yes?" Jensen repeated, feeling derailed. " I didn't even say what."

"Yes, whatever. Let's do whatever." Jared's smile spread further across his face. "You're a little awkward here, aren't you."

Jensen bumped their knees together. "And thanks for mentioning it, really."

"Not a problem." He tapped Jensen's plate with a spoon. "Eat up. Let's get going."

It was a good sandwich, with moist turkey and crisp lettuce, but Jensen ate quickly and didn't really taste the rest of it.

"Where to?" he asked, once they were on the sidewalk again.

Jared hesitated and glanced each way, up and down the street. "We can go for a drive or something, or rent a movie, or, shit, I dunno." He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. "There anything you want to do?"

"Let's go back to your place," Jensen said. When Jared glanced at his face, Jensen met his gaze and shrugged. "That a problem?"

"No," Jared said, and grinned. "No, it's not."

They walked. Jared lived on the opposite end of town from Sandy's, and Jensen peered curiously at the new shops they passed. These stores didn't seem any busier than the ones he'd already seen, though. Jared waved to a few people, but they didn't stop anywhere.

Radiator Springs Garage and Towing was almost the last building in town, which Jensen supposed would also make it the first shop you'd pass, coming in: good place for a garage. They didn't stop inside and talk to whoever made the steady clanking Jensen heard. Instead, Jared led him around the side, past tall stacks of tires and bits of scrap metal, to a staircase off the back of building. He bounded up the stairs and waited for Jensen at a balcony off the second floor.

"Stand back," Jared said as he unlocked the door.

Jensen raised his eyebrows but backed up. He squeezed himself between the balcony's rail and a beige set of plastic lawn furniture.

As soon as Jared opened the door, two huge dogs rushed outside. One reared up and planted its paws on Jared's chest, while another dropped down and sniffed at Jensen's feet. Their tails wagged quickly before they both barreled down the stairs. Jensen fully expected them to keep going once they hit the ground, but instead they smelled a stack of tires and curled next to some flowers, growing against the shop's wall.

"Harley and Sadie," Jared said, heading inside. "Just stay away from their flowers and you'll get on fine."

Jensen followed him inside. The doorway led directly into Jared's living room, where a couch aimed at an entertainment center-cum-bookshelf on the opposite wall took up most of the space. A coffee table held stacks of textbooks and a laptop, and cables from a game system lay tangled on the floor between the couch and the TV. A single door sat, closed, on the far wall.

Jared dropped his keys on a table set off to one side and continued past it into his kitchen. "I know it's not –" he started, then cut himself off abruptly and tried again. "Do you want something to drink?" He opened his fridge and ducked down easily to dig through the bottom shelves. His face was a little red, and he didn't look anywhere near Jensen.

Jensen glanced around the place one more time – yeah, it was small, but he wasn't gonna make an issue out of it – then crossed to Jared. He laid one hand on Jared's cheek, thumb right at the corner of his mouth, and titled up his face. Even the constant noise from the shop underneath was muffled through the floor, and the apartment seemed very quiet.

Jared's mouth parted as he turned to Jensen. Jensen rubbed over Jared's bottom lip, and Jared closed his eyes when Jensen's thumb caught on the warm, wet inside of his lip.

"Come up here," Jensen said.

Jared exhaled shakily, then opened his eyes. He stared up at Jensen before smiling and standing. Jensen slid his hand into Jared's hair as he went and tugged their mouths together.

Jared licked immediately into Jensen's mouth, gripped him hard by the hips, and started walking Jensen backwards, out of the kitchen. Jensen smoothed his hands down Jared's chest and pushed under his shirt. Jared's skin felt hot and smooth under Jensen's fingers, and Jensen broke away to tug Jared's shirt off.

"Shit," he said, as the shirt hit the living room floor. He'd guessed Jared looked good, having seen him in that wife-beater and running his hands under Jared's clothes last night, but he hadn't gotten a good look. Jared turned out to be fucking _cut_. His skin shone in the afternoon sun shining through the window by the door, and his muscles shifted visibly as he wound his fingers in Jensen's waistband and pulled him close again.

Their hips ground easily together. Jared's dick pushed against Jensen's hip, Jensen thrust against Jared's thigh, and they stayed pressed against each other for a long moment. They didn't kiss but just stared at each other. Jared's eyes were wide, his swollen lips were parted, and Jensen could feel Jared's breath against his own mouth. His heart skipped quickly along, and he wasn't certain it was just from the foreplay.

"I want you to fuck me," Jared said eventually. Jensen could almost taste the words. His hips stuttered, trying to get closer, but Jared smiled and stepped back.

Jensen followed as Jared led him into his bedroom. They both stripped off clothes as they went. After Jensen shimmied out of his jeans and toed off his socks, he found Jared standing with his back to the bed, watching with one hand on his balls. His dick, hard and red, curved towards his belly. Jensen grinned and pounced on Jared, bearing them both down to the bed.

Jared laughed as they both tried to scoot towards the head of the bed, to get their heads on the pillows and their feet all the way on the mattress. Neither one seemed willing to pull away long enough to just crawl up the bed, so they squirmed ineffectually until they got there. Jensen planted light, quick kisses on Jared's lips as they went. He kept pulling away before Jared could take any control, so that once Jared was fully settled on the bed, he grabbed Jensen's head and held him steady. Jared's tongue fucked into Jensen's mouth while his cock left slick trails over Jared's belly. Jensen thrust helplessly down at Jared, who wriggled until Jensen could settle between his spread legs.

"I don't have anything," Jensen pulled away to say.

"I've got it," Jared said. Jensen pressed his face into Jared's neck while Jared flung out an arm and rummaged in a bedside table. His dick slid easily next to Jared's, both of them leaking. When Jared dropped lube and an entire strip of condoms on the mattress next to their chests. Jensen pulled away and snorted.

"You're enthusiastic," he said, and glanced at the condoms while he started slicking his fingers.

"Is that a problem?" Jared pulled one knee up and planted his foot on the bed. Jensen mouthed at Jared's nipple as he scooted down his body. He rested his chin on Jared's breastbone and studied his face as he rubbed one wet finger over Jared's hole. Jared closed his eyes and squirmed. His hole tensed for just a moment before he bore down, and when Jensen pressed inside, slow but steady, Jared sighed and smiled.

Jared's rim tugged at Jensen as he worked two and then three fingers inside. Jensen mouthed absently over Jared's chest, working one nipple over and over. Jared's breath came faster and faster, and when he started stroking his dick in time with Jensen's thrusts into his ass, Jensen gave his nipple one last smacking kiss and pulled his hand free.

Jared spread his legs even further as Jensen rolled on a condom and stroked lube over his dick. He closed his eyes and groaned at the slick, firm grip. Jared let him thrust a few times into his own hand, then kicked him awkwardly.

"Pretty show," he said. "Bring it down here."

Jensen fell onto Jared and thrust right inside, taking it slow and easy. He wanted to ram himself home, to feel Jared tight and gasping underneath him, but he made himself take his time. Jared opened up for him, arching into Jensen's hips and taking every stroke easily. Jensen hitched Jared's legs further up around his waist and braced himself on one arm, with his elbow pushed up against Jared's shoulder and his fingers tangled in Jared's hair.

Jared's earlier intensity seemed to have melted entirely away. Jensen could feel Jared's hands between their bellies. He rubbed slowly over his cock, not moving with Jensen's rhythm but to his own, and he smeared precome all over them both.

Sunlight filtered through closed curtains over Jared's bed as Jensen fucked him slow and lazy. He changed his strokes to match the movement of Jared's hand and the pleasure spun out from his dick, throughout his entire body.

Jensen's arms buckled when he came and he fell, gasping into Jared's neck. Jensen's dick hadn't really stopped twitching when he noticed Jared still trying to move his hand between them. He shifted his hips up over and over, looking for friction somewhere, and Jensen shook his head.

He pulled out, tied up and tossed away the condom, and settled himself back between Jared's legs. Jared was a mess – precome sticky over his belly, sweat glistening in the creases of his thighs, lube smeared over his swollen hole. Jensen laced his fingers over Jared's, letting him control the pace as both their hands worked over Jared's dick, and put his mouth to Jared's skin. He drug his tongue through the musk and the salt before dipping down to the thick, bland lube.

Jensen closed his eyes as he slid his tongue into Jared's hole. Jared jerked and moaned underneath him, speeding their strokes on his cock, and Jensen thrust as deeply as he could. His nose pressed to the soft skin under Jared's balls. Jensen rubbed his free hand up and down Jared's inner thigh, keeping him spread open. He barely had time to lick the taste of latex out of Jared's ass before Jared was spasmed and clamped down as he came.

Jensen pressed one last swipe of his tongue to Jared's wet hole before sitting back on his knees. Jared was sweaty and panting, and he'd thrown one arm over his eyes. Jensen slowly straightened Jared's legs and then crawled back up his body. He licked the jizz off Jared's abs and chest as he went.

He'd meant to climb out of bed for a long drink of water when he finished, but Jared grabbed him by the back of the neck after he sucked up the last splatter, and tugged their mouths together again. Jensen rolled off Jared to lie next to him and Jared moved with him without breaking the kiss. Their legs slotted together easily, one of Jared's between both of Jensen's, and they kissed until long after their heart rates calmed.

.

The room was dim but not dark when Jensen woke up, and he heard Jared banging around in the kitchen. Something smelled truly awesome: tomatoes and herbs, maybe some meat.

Jensen rolled onto his back and scratched his belly, then sat up and looked around. He hadn't paid attention to anything but Jared when they tumbled into bed, but glancing around now, he saw a matching bedroom set – queen bed, side table, and dresser. The furniture was really too big for the area, and didn't leave much space between the walls and the sides of the bed, but except for several towering stacks of books on the dresser, and their trail of clothes, the room was clean.

Jensen stepped back into his boxers and wandered into the kitchen. Jared sat reading on the counter in a pair of plaid pajama pants and nothing else. The oven's clock showed 6:47, and Jensen could see the sun setting through a window over the sink.

Jared put his book on the counter, keeping a finger between the pages to mark his spot, and smiled at Jensen. "Hey," he said.

"Hey." Jensen slid his hands up Jared's thighs to rest on his hips, and leaned up to kiss him. "Smells good."

"I heated up some pizzas." Jared scrubbed a hand through his hair, which was still dry. Between that and the thick smell of sex hanging on Jared, Jensen guessed he hadn't showered yet, either.

"I dunno what time you need to head out," Jared continued, "but you should eat something, and I figured you might be all dinered out by now."

Jensen laughed. "It's good food, but yeah, pizza sounds great." He pulled away from Jared and looked around the kitchen. "Where do you keep your glasses?"

Jared pointed to a cabinet behind Jensen, who filled himself a glass of water and drank it standing at the sink. He swished the last sip around his mouth and spat it out, then poured himself a refill. Jared, who'd busied himself finding a paper towel to use as a bookmark, now watched Jensen.

"Sorry," Jensen said. "I meant to do that earlier. My mouth probably tasted like ass just then." He started on another sip before Jared began laughing. Once Jensen realized just what he'd said, he winced and tried to laugh himself, almost choking in the process.

Jared pounded him on the back until Jensen could breath again. He put the glass on the counter opposite Jared and shook his head. He could feel just how red his cheeks were burning right now.

"Well, that was Freudian," Jared said.

Jensen shook his head again and avoided Jared's eyes. "Yeah, well."

The oven timer dinged then, saving him. Jensen fucking loved the oven timer.

The smirk stayed on Jared's face as he got out plates, a pizza slicer, and beer. He cut enormous slices, piling almost half a pizza onto each plate. Jensen's mouth watered as he reached for his food, but Jared held onto the plate and wouldn't let go until Jensen glanced up at his face.

"Seeing as how it was my ass you tasted like?" Jared smirked again and tugged on the plate to pull Jensen closer. "I don't much care." Jared kissed him quickly, then pushed the pizza at Jensen and picked up his own food before heading outside.

The sun sank below the horizon as they sat on the balcony. The dogs came trotting up the stairs to beg for food, but Jared ignored them and they gave it up quickly enough. The pizza was hot and greasy, perfect, in Jensen's mouth. He wiped his fingers in between each slice and took long pulls of his beer while it was still cold.

Across the table, Jared dipped his slices into a huge puddle of ranch dressing. Their feet kept brushing under the table. Jensen's breath caught each time, but he didn't act on anything until he was almost finished eating. When he straightened his legs so that his feet were under Jared's chair and their shins leaned together, Jared flicked his eyes to Jensen's. Jensen raised his eyebrows, suddenly feeling he'd overstepped some boundary, until Jared grinned and extended his own legs.

The sky had darkened completely when Jensen pushed his empty plate toward the center of the table. Jared mopped up the final traces of ranch with his last piece of crust, then followed suit.

"So," Jensen said, "you gonna tell me what you're doing out here?"

Jared frowned. "Eating?"

"No, not –" Jensen laughed. "You're not from around here, are you."

Jared cocked his head and studied Jensen before answering. "How'd you know that?"

"You introduce me to people wherever we go, but you've never mentioned your family. You live where you work, you don't give me straight answers when I drop hints…" Jensen shrugged. "Tell me to fuck off if you don't wanna talk about it, but I'm curious."

Jared drained the last of his beer and then rolled the bottle between his palms before answering. "I grew up in Texas, and then moved out to LA after high school," he said. "Was gonna do the whole acting thing – I did for a while, actually. I already had a part when I moved."

"And it fell through?" Jensen guessed.

"No, it went really well, actually. The show got picked up, I was a love interest, we didn't get cancelled." He shrugged again. He still faced Jensen, but his eyes were unfocused, staring beyond him. Jensen waited for him to speak again.

"It wasn't how I thought it'd be," Jared said finally. "I looked around during a hiatus and realized I didn't know what I was doing. I'd gotten work and all, but it wasn't making me happy, like I thought it would. I wanted to something, I dunno, tangible – lasting, you know?" He shook his head. "I tried to ignore it at first, but I just started driving one day, instead of heading into work. I'd meant to go home, but I stopped here for gas and just never left."

Jensen nodded slowly. "What happened with the show?"

"Character got written off," Jared said. He huffed a laugh. "It didn't take much to convince the network I was having some kind of mental breakdown, since I essentially fucked off and tried to throw away my job. My contract was up anyway, and." He sighed and gestured around. "Here I am."

"Yeah, wow," Jensen said. He frowned down at his bottle and started picking at the label. "You just – gave it up, just like that?" When he glanced up, Jared just shrugged again.

"It's not like I was pulling in Oscar nominations or anything."

"Not for TV, you weren't."

"Emmy noms then, whatever." Jared rolled his eyes. Jensen sat up straighter when he realized he hadn't mentioned Morgan yet, but he didn't want to interrupt. "It wasn't making me happy," Jared continued, "and I was gonna work hard and wait a long time – too long – before it would." He shrugged again. "So I got out. Easy as that."

Jensen shook his head; he'd heard that a lot, today. "And here – how long've you been here?"

"Since then," Jared said. "Uh, since fall oh-four, I guess."

Jensen raised his eyebrows. "That's a long time."

"Good people here." Jared put his bottle back on the table. "Lots of us used to be in the business, actually. They took good care of me."

"Really?" Jensen thought through the townspeople he'd met. He hadn't recognized any of them, but that didn't mean anything. He hadn't recognized Morgan, either. "Who?"

"Well, Tom and Mike met on some superhero show that never got off the ground." Jared started ticking people off, on his fingers. "Adrianne and Megalyn had guest spots on something else, that got cancelled right away. Chad and I worked together, actually, and Genevieve and Katie kept going up for a bunch of the same parts, before they got out of it. There're some others, too, that I don't think you met, and I heard you talking about Doc, so."

"So that's why no one cared when I told them about Morgan," Jensen said.

"Pretty much.

Jensen shivered as the breeze picked up. Jared, watching, frowned and stood.

"C'mon," he said. "It's getting cold."

Jensen rinsed the plates while Jared sliced the other pizza and wrapped it in foil. Jensen snagged a piece before Jared stuck it in the fridge and ate on the couch. Jared followed him a little later. He stretched out along the length of the sofa. Jensen grumbled a little when Jared stuck his feet in Jensen's lap, but they otherwise finished their slices in silence.

"You ever miss it?" Jensen asked finally. He studied Jared's face, but Jared closed his eyes and tipped his head against the arm of the couch.

"I miss the acting itself," he said, "sometimes. I miss doing a scene where everyone nails it – you know that feeling, when it's perfect and you know it in your gut, without needing to be told?"

Jared lifted his head, and Jensen's breath caught when their eyes met. He nodded silently. Jared watched him for a few moments without speaking; their breathing was very loud. Jensen closed a hand carefully over one of Jared's ankles, slipping his thumb into Jared's pajamas to rub circles over his leg, and Jared shuddered before continuing.

"That's what I miss," he said. "Not the bullshit – the psycho fans and the press and the politics – but the good stuff."

Jensen nodded. "It's – I can't imagine getting out," he said. "The bullshit, yeah, it's _bullshit_, man, but I love it. I couldn't quit."

Jared glanced down. "How long'd it take you, to get this part?"

"Ten years," Jensen said, and shook his head. "An entire fucking decade, but I'd do it again."

"That's good," Jared said, and met Jensen's eyes again. "S'good it makes you happy."

Jensen licked his lips, only partially to sweep away the last of the pizza grease. Jared tracked the movement, and his eyes dilated a little.

"When are you leaving?" Jared asked, barely louder than a whisper.

Jensen sighed and pushed his hand further up Jared's pajamas, to stroke over his shin. "The premiere's not til Saturday night, but I should be back tomorrow," he said, feeling absurdly apologetic.

Jared nodded. "No, I get it. There's shit to do." He looked away. "So, that means…" He trailed off.

"I could get away with one more night here," Jensen said. Jared glanced up quickly and caught his gaze with wide eyes. "I mean, if that's cool with you?"

"Yes," Jared said, and grinned. "Yeah. You should stay."

Jensen leaned forward and pressed his smile against Jared's.

.

Jensen woke with Jared's chest snug against his back, Jared's breathing loud in his ear, and Jared's dick, hard, sliding between the cheeks of his ass. Jensen stretched a little, mostly canting his hips to roll with Jared's thrusts, and Jared's arm tightened around his waist. Jensen covered Jared's hand with his own and wrapped their fingers around his cock, then relaxed further into the bed.

Jared thrust lazily, stroking Jensen in the same rhythm he used with his dick. Jensen closed his eyes and rocked his hips in time with Jared's – forward into their hands, backwards into Jared's cock. Jared rubbed over Jensen's hole with every few strokes and he shivered each time. Jensen didn't think this would be enough to get either one of them off, but it was a damn nice way to wake up.

A car screeched its brakes outside as Jensen turned his head to the side. Jared's mouth covered his almost immediately and Jensen opened for his tongue, stale breath and all.

"Can I?" Jared asked. The head of his cock slid wetly over Jensen's hole, and the lube and condoms waited in easy reach, tangled in the sheets. Jensen was glad now for Jared's earlier optimism.

"Yeah." Jensen shuddered. "Yeah, just –"

The dogs started barking in the other room and Jared froze. Jensen opened his eyes and saw him frowning.

"They never do that, unless –" Jared started, but he was cut off by someone pounding on the front door.

"You're shitting me," Jensen muttered. He ground his hips back hopefully, but Jared rolled out of bed and carefully pulled on last night's pajamas. His dick was fully visible through the fabric, looking about as hard as Jensen felt, and Jensen raised his eyebrows.

"Just a second!" Jared called, frowning down at himself. Jensen flopped back on the pillows and tried not to laugh.

"Oh, don't even," Jared said. He found a bathrobe and tied it so the fabric bunched at his waist.

Outside, the banging paused. "I'm looking for Jensen Ackles!" yelled a familiar female voice.

Jared looked immediately to Jensen, who sat up straight in bed.

"Shit," he said. His erection faded away quickly. "Mack."

His sister burst inside as soon as Jared unlocked the door, already going a mile a minute.

"— cannot _believe_ you didn't call me back after you took care of things – did you know I had to ask the _lawyers_ what was going on?" Mackenzie thumbed rapidly through her BlackBerry while Jensen, wearing only his jeans, gathered up the rest of his clothes. Jared, who'd escaped to make coffee, leaned against his dining table and watched.

"And you didn't even call _Mom_, Jensen, I don't even know what to _say_ to that –"

"Hey," Jensen tried. He sat on the couch to pull on a pair of socks that could have been anyone's. "I didn't have a phone, and you knew what was going on, so you didn't you –"

"Do not. Start with me," she snapped, and finally looked up at Jensen. Her gaze raked down his neck and bare chest before darting over to Jared. After Mack checked him out, she clenched her jaw and shook her head. "Okay, and now we need to get you into makeup before the presser this afternoon, awesome, Jen, thanks a lot." She pointed at him. "Do not leave this room," she said, and then called someone and headed onto the porch.

"Makeup?" Jensen raised his eyebrows at Jared, who shrugged.

"You look, uh, pretty well-fucked," Jared said.

Instead of checking – Jensen knew very well he couldn't see his own neck – Jensen looked Jared over: mussed hair, swollen lips, bitten nipples, fresh bruises on his neck and hips, cock heavy and right there in his pants –

Jensen shook himself a little. "Not as well-fucked as I'd like to be," he muttered. Jared inhaled, audible from across the room, and Jensen made himself turn away. "Have you seen my shoes?" he asked instead.

Jared pointed them out, and once Jensen got his walk-of-shame outfit back together, they leaned against the kitchen counters, drinking coffee and listening to Mack's side of a series of rapid conversations. Jared's side felt warm where Jensen pressed up against him. Noise started and stopped in the garage and in the street, but they leaned their weight against each other and waited.

Jensen thought through a variety of things he wanted to say, but he didn't need to ask any of his questions to know why Jared would turn him down. He looked around and took in the books on every surface, the snapshots magneted to the fridge, the smoothie cups and diner take-out boxes visible in the trashcan. Jared was happy here, even if Jensen wouldn't be. He didn't want to go back to LA.

Jensen moved closer to Jared and sighed heavily instead of speaking. Jared drained the last of his coffee and put his empty mug on the counter behind them, then slid his arm around Jensen waist and tugged them tighter together.

Mack was still busy on the phone when she came back inside and snapped her fingers at Jensen. _Come with me_, she mouthed, then turned and headed down the stairs.

Jensen turned and looked up at Jared. Jared smiled tightly, squeezed his arm around Jensen once more, and then took his hand away.

"You heard the lady," Jared said. "Go."

Jensen leaned up and kissed him, but Jared kept his mouth closed. After a single dry press of their lips, Jensen stepped back.

"It's been fun," Jensen said, feeling inadequate.

"It has," Jared said. He stuck his hands into his bathroom pockets and swayed a little.

"Jensen!" Mack called from outside.

"Don't drag it out," Jared said. "Go."

Jensen turned and did.

Even though the door and windows had been thrown open since Mack arrived, the sunlight reflecting off the flat ground surrounding the town was almost blinding. Mack grabbed Jensen's arm when he reached the bottom of the stairs as if they were on a date and walked him quickly around the side of the building. Jensen glanced backwards but couldn't see anything in Jared's apartment before they turned the corner.

Mack shot questions at him as they walked next to the building and then headed down the sidewalk. They picked up people from the tour as they went: legal people, various assistants, one of the publicists.

"Were you photographed while you were here?" Mack asked.

"Don't think so," Jensen said, but he had no way of knowing. "Coulda been."

She nodded. "Any of it incriminating?"

He hesitated for just a moment, but Mack shook her head and cursed. "Parker, " she snapped, and one of their accumulated crowd perked up. "Go back and deal with that. We've already got someone dealing with Morgan," she told Jensen.

"Good luck with that," he muttered. She ignored him and kept going.

"Is there anything else I should know about?"

Jensen thought as they walked. When they passed the juice bar, Chad caught Jensen's gaze through the window and started laughing.

"Sandy," he said eventually. "The bed and breakfast, I haven't checked out or paid or anything yet."

Mack nodded. She steered them into the diner's parking lot and Jensen boggled when he saw the entire promo tour idling there. A few townspeople stood outside, staring at the two buses prominently featuring the movie's artwork. Some members of their embedded press unit wandered around, taking pictures and talking to people with their tape recorders in hand, but most people were still on the buses. Jensen didn't see any of his costars, nor most of his favorite support staff.

"Everyone's here?" he asked Mack.

She nodded. "You were only about an hour out of the way, so we moved things around a little to come get you, after we got the call."

Much as Jensen wished he was still in Jared's bed, with the entire day laid out for him to make his way home, he couldn't keep from smiling that all these people had gone out of their way to help fix him.

"Thanks, Mack," he said quietly.

She shook her head but smiled as well.

"Wait," Jensen said, as her earlier words caught up with him, "who called? It wasn't me."

"Obviously not," she said. "It was Morgan. He let us know this morning that you were finished and he'd let you go."

Jensen's head spun a little. Not only had Morgan done his best to make an unpleasant situation harder, now he was cock-blocking, too. Jensen knew, realistically, that he couldn't have all the time he wanted with Jared and still make it back for the premiere, but Jensen had been forced to say goodbye on Morgan's terms instead of his own. He clenched his jaw and wondered where Morgan got off judging _him_ as dishonest when this was how Morgan repaid people.

Jensen's first instinct was to sweep everyone together and flounce out of town, but somehow, he thought that would just play back into Morgan's hand. Instead, he looked around the parking lot, taking in the paused tour and the empty, idling town.

"When did the next conference get moved to?" he asked.

Mack checked. "Six."

"Let's do one here," Jensen said. He gestured around the lot. "We've got the time, we've got the press – enough of the press, anyway, and everyone can get lunch, c'mon. It's great."

The other assistants still fluttering around Mack and Jensen frowned, but Mack bit her lip and took another look around as well.

"Could help with explaining where you've been," she said, and then shrugged. "No promises, but I'll mention it."

"You're awesome," Jensen said, and pulled Mack in for a hug before she set off. Her head fit perfectly under his chin for a moment before she pushed him away.

"Take a shower," she said, and headed into the diner. Jensen saw James and some of the other higher-ups sitting at the table. He watched Mack approach them, wished her good luck, and headed straight to his bus's shower.

.

The conference tables and lights were set up in the parking lot by the time Jensen dried off and dressed. He sat between Aldis and Danneel, who were flanked by Chris and Jessica, in front of their bus. He and his costars had an easy rhythm at this point. Jensen answered the same things he'd been fielding for the past two weeks, with a few added questions about his time away from the tour. He gave the same neutral responses Mack and the publicist taught him– food poisoning, nothing serious, took some time off but was feeling great now.

The reporters largely seemed bored at this point, and the flashbulbs only went off every few minutes, but Jensen felt strangely energized to be back on the job. Even though dealing with the press was his least favorite thing about the biz, knowing he would get back on time was a huge relief. His usual nerves, and his sense of regret at leaving Jared, were pressed beneath the jitters from the coffee he'd drunk at the apartment.

Jensen watched the growing crowd when the others answered the reporters. He recognized a few faces – Mike loved the sudden activity, Megalyn directed almost half her wait staff as they set up a table of box lunches to the side, and Morgan stood with his arms crossed at the very edge of the crowd. His face was set and unreadable, and Jensen looked away after a moment.

He searched the crowd until the conference ended, and pushed his way through the people milling around afterwards, but he didn't see Jared anywhere. Jensen was trying to press through to Sandy, to ask her if she knew where he was, when Mack reappeared at his side. She balanced two lunches in one hand and gripped his arm with the other, pulling him inexorably back to the bus. The crowd parted for Mack's calm authority where Jensen's confused searching had done nothing. He glanced backwards and shrugged at Sandy, who nodded sadly and shrugged as well.

Mack bustled him up the stairs and didn't let Jensen out of her sight until the tour bus started up and drove away. She unpacked their lunches and Jensen sat by a window while he ate. His turkey sandwich reminded him forcefully of sitting next to Jared in the diner, crunching through crisp vegetables and juicy meat but focusing more on whatever Jared held up his sleeve.

He checked the people on the streets as they drove away, but the road out of town took them away from the garage, and away from Jared. Jensen watched the Spin factory when it came into view. Once they passed it, Jensen wrapped up his food, left behind the loud conversations he'd been ignoring anyway, and headed to his bunk. He pulled the curtain closed and lay in the dark, wide awake, as the bus swayed back and forth.

.

"Have you had any luck yet, Mack?" Jensen asked, while the makeup guy rummaged in his bag.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "There hasn't really been time – gimme a week or so, once the premiere stuff all settles down, and I'll get on it again."

Jensen sighed but didn't frown. He looked up at the ceiling while the guy dabbed a sponge under his eyes. Jensen hadn't even been back in LA for 48 hours, but he realized all too late that he had no way of getting in contact with Jared again. He hadn't thought to ask for Jared's number or his email, since they always made plans face to face, but worse, he'd never gotten Jared's last name. Facebook stalking him was right out, and Google seemed just as useless.

Jensen had a copy of the contract with Morgan, of course, so he had contact info for both Morgan and Sandy. He thought not even knowing Jared's full name might rank pretty high on Sandy's list of things for which she would cut you, though, and Morgan was a definite last resort. Jensen had set Mack to trying to find Jared some other way, but they _were_ all busy. She kept rolling her eyes and putting him off.

The makeup guy dusted finishing powder over Jensen's face, stepped back to peer at his work, and nodded. He swept the towel off Jensen's shoulders and chest, uncovering the suit beneath, and began packing up, moving essentials into a smaller bag.

"I'll be there in case something happens," he said, "but you should be set for the night."

"Thanks," Jensen said absently. He stood and walked to the window while the guy slipped out. The city bustled outside, but Jensen ignored it and pulled out his iPhone. He searched through imdb for the few moments of downtime. He'd pulled a list of shows filmed in the early 2000s from Wikipedia, and he was working his way through them in an attempt to find which one had been Jared's. The page would at least have his full name listed, and Jensen could go from there.

Mack perched on the edge of Jensen's bed and spoke quietly into her BlackBerry. With just the two of them, the room was almost silent, but voices and laughter rang out from the small mob convened in his living room and kitchen. Jensen tried to ignore the people, but eventually Mack slid her phone into her purse and came to stand in front of him.

"You'll do fine," she said, and smoothed his jacket.

Jensen forced a smile. "It's too late to back out, innit."

"Sure is." She pulled out a camera and pressed herself to his side. "You take it, your arm's longer."

Jensen rolled his eyes but he knew their family loved casual shots of the two of them, so he held the camera at arm's length, wrapped his other arm around Mack's shoulders, and smiled.

"Great," she said, and put the camera away after showing him the shot. She stood close to his height in her heels, and their smiles were almost identical. Their mom would be able the see the tension hiding around their eyes, but everyone else would think it was a great picture.

"Your dress is –" Jensen paused and looked her over. The black strapless number she wore was purposefully understated, so Mack wouldn't outshine any of the stars, but Jensen had a hard time reconciling its clingy slinkiness to his baby sister inside.

Mack scoffed. "Don't even," she said. "I'm a grown woman, I'll wear what I want."

"It's nice!" Jensen tried. "I was gonna say nice!"

"Uh huh." She checked his alarm clock, then nodded to the door. "It's go time, c'mon."

Jensen tucked his phone into an inner jacket pocket and followed her to the door. The hallway was dark, but the noise from the house sounded even louder as they approached.

Mack stopped just before walking into the living room and put one hand on Jensen's arm. "I know you're not really into the whole entourage thing, but…"

"But what?" Jensen narrowed his eyes. "Mack, what did you do?"

She stepped backwards into the living room and fucking beamed. "Come see," she said.

Jensen frowned but turned the corner as well. He recognized the people waiting for him, but their formal clothes gave him a moment of cognitive dissonance before he could act.

Sandy had been the only person he saw dressed up in Radiator Springs, and he recognized her first now, in a strappy black dress that floated around her thighs. Chad stood next to her with his hair impressively mussed, and Adrianne and Megalyn were on her other side. Mike and Tom, and Katie and Genevieve, stood behind them, more involved in their glasses of champagne than in anything else, and Morgan stood in the center of the group. Clean-shaven and impressively dressed, he was instantly recognizable as the actor Jensen studied almost a decade ago.

Jared wasn't anywhere to be seen, but regardless, Jensen could feel his smile growing ridiculously wide. He let it as he walked forward and finally shook Morgan's hand.

"Surprise," Morgan said, and smiled just as widely.

"What are you all doing here?" Jensen asked. He let go of Morgan and clasped Chad's hand next, then started hugging his way through the others.

"I called," Mack said. Jensen turned and raised his eyebrows, but she just shrugged. "So I didn't want you moping your way through your big break, sue me."

"I looked you up," Morgan said. He held a glass of champagne and looked completely at ease. "You do good work. If this film's anything like what I've seen, you've got it in the bag."

Jensen's mouth fell open. "I thought you _hated_ me," he managed eventually.

"Nah, not really." Morgan clapped Jensen on the back. "You did a good thing, stopping the tour. Not gonna punish you for that."

"Thank you," Jensen said after a moment. "That means a lot."

Morgan smiled and stepped back a little, letting the others in for their own conversations. Jensen laughed and stared at the faces around him. He was a little unsettled at feeling so comfortable with these people after less than a week, but he took the champagne Sandy offered him and just let himself be happy for a while.

"How is – who's running the town?" he asked, and they all laughed.

"We're not the only people who live there," Sandy said. She slid her arm through Jensen's as easily as Mack, and smiled up at him. "Everyone else is handling things for a few days."

"Thanks for coming," Jensen told her, bending to kiss her on the cheek.

"Of course," she said softly.

"I, um," Jensen said and shook his head. "I don't really know how to ask this, but –"

"Jared?" she asked. Jensen nodded eagerly.

"That's part of why we're here," Morgan said. "Never got to say goodbye, did he?"

Jensen shook his head slowly. "I couldn't find him anywhere when we left," he said.

"I know." Sandy pulled her hand back and patted him on the arm, then took his champagne away and handed it off to someone else. "Just remember what I talked to you about, okay?"

"He didn't come?" Jensen asked. His stomach sank, but Sandy just smiled and didn't say anything.

Things started happening quickly then, as Mack moved into high gear. She ushered everybody outside and toward two waiting limos. Jensen tried to pile into the first stretch with everyone else, but Mack pulled him away and pointed to the other.

"Ours is going to the carpet, theirs isn't," she explained. The driver opened the door and held it expectantly for Jensen.

"I'm gonna ride up front," Mack said. "I got carsick from being in the back, last time."

Jensen nodded absently. He'd done a decent job of ignoring the carpet, but now that Mack mentioned it, all his worries about it spun back into the front of his mind. The reporters, the paparazzi, the questions, the fans, the constant pressure not to trip. It was, at least, overshadowing Jared for a while.

He barely noticed Mack's huge smile and climbed inside on autopilot, sprawling against the seats and not noticing the other person inside until he'd smacked up against their chest.

"Okay," Jensen said, not looking around, "you're in the wrong limo, and I've gotta maybe have a panic attack right now, but I'll see you later, okay? This is the wrong limo. This one's going to the carpet."

"Yeah, I know," the guy said, and Jensen knew that voice.

He looked up quickly enough to hear his jacket crinkle in protest and saw Jared smiling down at him. Jensen's heart leapt, his stomach dropped, and his mouth started watering.

"Holy _shit_," Jensen said, and launched himself into Jared's lap. He wound his hands through Jared's hair and kissed hungrily, licking over Jared's bottom lip and into his mouth when Jared opened up, laughing. Jared's hands moved down his chest, around his waist, and cupped his ass. Jensen pressed back into Jared's hands and panted into his mouth as his cock hardened almost dizzyingly.

"What're you doing here?" Jensen breathed, feeding the words between Jared's lips. "I thought you hated LA."

"M'not here for LA," Jared said. He pulled back and looked at Jensen's face. "I'm here for you."

Jensen inhaled sharply and let the breath out with a shudder. If Jared had really come back for him, then maybe this would be something good. He clutched tighter to Jared's shoulders as the limo pulled off. Jared laughed a little, turned to the side, and deposited Jensen next to him on the seat.

"We probably shouldn't, right now," Jared said. He kept his hands on Jensen, though, one on his thigh and the other around his shoulders. "No wet spots in the tabloids tomorrow."

"And this is better?" Jensen glanced down at his crotch. The fabric strained around his hard dick, which was visible even in the limo's dim light.

Jared threw back his head and laughed. "Save that thought," he managed.

"I've been saving it since I left," Jensen said. He ran his hands down Jared's chest, then unbuttoned Jared's jacket and slid his hands inside. He could feel Jared's heart tripping along rapidly under his shirt. "How are you even here?"

"Your sister called," Jared said. "Told me you were tearing apart the Internet trying to find me, and could I come to town for –" Jared hesitated and swallowed. He stared at Jensen's face, gaze darting back and forth between his eyes for a moment, then shook his head a little. "For the premiere," he said eventually.

Jensen grinned. "I want you here longer than that," he said. Jared bit his bottom lip and Jensen shrugged. "There're schools here, you can maybe pick up some smaller parts and skip the bullshit…" He shrugged. "Or you can just – whatever. I don't care what you do, really." Jensen glanced down, away from Jared's intense eyes. "You can just stay with me and, you should be with me, is all."

Neither of them breathed very loudly while Jensen waited for Jared to answer. The limo rocked them gently back and forth. Whatever connection lay between Jared and Jensen felt stronger than it had any right to, after knowing each other for less than a week, but Jensen knew it wasn't binding. He didn't know what Jared wanted, and his own desires weren't much clearer, but the silence before Jared answered stretched forever.

"Are you asking to be my sugar daddy?" Jared asked eventually.

Jensen looked up and saw Jared's wide smile. He sagged with relief and laughed. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, it looks that way."

Jared cupped his hand around the back of Jensen's neck, carefully not messing with his hair, and pulled him in for another kiss. He sucked Jensen's bottom lip into his mouth and held them still for a few moments, so they could watch each other with their eyes out of focus. Jensen's breath caught as Jared traced his tongue over his lip. He could feel the slight trembling in Jared's hand.

Jensen smoothed his own shaky hands across Jared's chest, trying to calm them both down a little, and slid his tongue into Jared's mouth. Jared sighed and pulled Jensen closer. They both angled toward each other on the limo's seat, and Jensen eventually gave up and slung his legs sideways over Jared's, so that his knees were bent over Jared's lap. Jared moved his hand from Jensen's neck and slid it around his shoulders to take some of his weight. He wound his other arm around the knee closest to his chest, pulling Jensen's legs apart a little, and slipped a hand down Jensen's inner thigh.

"This is, this is not the best idea ever," Jensen said, as Jared reached his dick and rubbed slowly over Jensen, through his pants.

"Mmm," Jared said, and bit Jensen's lip. Jensen moaned. "Should we stop?"

"No," Jensen said quickly, rolling his hips into Jared's hand. "Not that."

"No messes," Jared warned. He manhandled them until Jensen was flat on the seat with one foot on the floor, and Jared knelt awkwardly between his thighs, with half his weight on the seat. He unzipped Jensen's dress pants and carefully moved his shirttails out of the way before pulling Jensen's cock from his boxers. Jensen moaned again and let his head thump back against the seat when Jared stroked him a few times, and he barely registered when Jared clicked his tongue.

"And be quiet," Jared said, and then sucked Jensen into his mouth. Jensen bit down on his fist and tried to thrust up, but Jared kept him easily down with one arm held over his hips. He wrapped his other hand around the base of Jensen's cock and stroked his thumb back and forth on the vein underneath while he worked his tongue over Jensen's head.

Technically speaking, it wasn't the best blowjob ever: Jared never let things get good and sloppy-wet, and somewhere far in the back of his mind, Jensen worried about a sharp turn sending them both tumbling to the floor.

All the adrenaline from the past week seemed to flood back through Jensen's blood at the very thought of being with Jared again, though, and he was embarrassingly close to losing it right off the bat. The driver kept things under control, and the vibrations from the engine rattled through Jensen's balls whether they idled at a red light or went swaying gently down the street. When he lifted his head in time to see Jared pull all the way to the tip of his dick, and then flatten his tongue and suck hard while their eyes locked, Jensen's belly clenched up and he came immediately.

Jared kept his mouth locked on Jensen's dick and swallowed hard and fast. He slurped off carefully and tucked Jensen away before he'd caught his breath. Jensen snorted a laugh when he glanced down and found his pants a little wrinkled, but dry and unstained.

"C'mere," he said, and rolled his eyes when Jared knee-walked over the floor to his shoulders. "Not what I meant," Jensen said, and leaned over to kiss him.

Jared kept his hands on his own knees as Jensen kissed him, and Jensen eventually pulled away to sit up again. He patted the seat next to him and Jared joined him. He was flushed, breathing quickly, and still visibly hard, and he whimpered as Jensen unzipped his pants.

"I can wait," he said, but the protest didn't mean much when he lifted his hips to help Jensen get to his dick.

"No messes," Jensen said. He pressed himself against Jared's side and mouthed absently over his neck and ears while he smeared Jared's precome over his hand. He started stroking hard and fast, and Jared leaned his head against Jensen's, getting floppy hair in his eyes. He held his hips still for a few strokes, then moaned low in his throat and started thrusting to meet Jensen's hand.

Jensen wanted to take his time, to make Jared writhe and sweat and groan so prettily for hours, but he didn't know how much further they had to drive. He kept his pace steady and it wasn't long before Jared scrunched up his face and came silently, looking almost pained. Jensen cupped his other hand over the head of Jared's dick and caught his hot splatters of come, keeping them off everyone's clothes.

He licked his hand clean while Jared rebuttoned his pants. The come was metallic and warm in his mouth, and Jared watched him hungrily. He reached over to swipe a stray drop from the corner of Jensen's lips just as the limo pulled to a stop again. Someone outside opened the door to a world of flashbulbs and excited shouts, and Jared tugged Jensen to him one last time, keeping them out of the sight of the waiting crowd.

"My name's Padalecki," he said, against Jensen's lips.

Jensen laughed. "Never heard of you."

"I bet." Jared kissed him one more time, smoothed Jensen's coat over his chest, and then pushed him gently towards the door. He smiled wide as he settled back against the seat. "Go on. Break a leg."

.

The next afternoon, as Jensen sprawled in bed next to Jared and thumbed through the magazines and gossip blog print-outs Mack had delivered, he couldn't remember giving any of the interviews or posing for any of the pictures. The carpet had passed in a haze, bright lights and adrenaline. Jensen looked truly happy in all his pictures, with his smile lines crinkling in full force and his shoulders relaxed. His lips were plumped and his cheeks flushed, and while Jensen had a good idea of how _that_ happened, he couldn't call up the other details.

Looking back, all Jensen really remembered was finally stumbling to his seat, winding his fingers through Jared's as the theater darkened, and watching as the rest of his life began to play.


End file.
